■ 

■ 









1 




WW 





Class. 
Book. 



__„ 



Copyright fl?_ 



COWK1GHT DEPOSm 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
AND CORRESPONDENCE 



A MANUAL FOR REPORTERS, 

CORRESPONDENTS, AND STUDENTS 

OF NEWSPAPER WRITING 



BY 

GRANT MILNOR HYDE, M.A. 

INSTRUCTOR IN JOURNALISM IN THE 
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN. 




NEW YORK AND LONDON 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

1912 



Copyright, 1912, by 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 



Printed in the United States of America 



gdA327320 



TO 

MY MOTHER 



INTRODUCTION 

The purpose of this book is to instruct the pros- 
pective newspaper reporter in the way to write those 
stories which his future paper will call upon him to 
write, and to help the young cub reporter and the 
struggling correspondent past the perils of the copy- 
reader's pencil by telling them how to write clean 
copy that requires a minimum of editing. It is not 
concerned with the why of the newspaper business 
— the editor may attend to that — but with the how 
of the reporter's work. And an ability to write is 
believed to be the reporter's chief asset. There is 
no space in this book to dilate upon newspaper or- 
ganization, the work of the business office, the writ- 
ing of advertisements, the principles of editorial 
writing, or the how and why of newspaper policy 
and practice, as it is. These things do not concern 
the reporter during the first few months of his work, 
and he will learn them from experience when he 
needs them. Until then, his usefulness depends 
solely upon his ability to get news and to write it. 

There are two phases of the work which every 
reporter must learn : how to get the news and how 

vii 



INTRODUCTION 

to write it. The first he can pick up easily by actual 
newspaper experience — if nature has endowed him 
with "a nose for news." The writing of the news 
he can learn only by hard practice — a year's hard 
practice on some papers — and it is generally con- 
ceded that practice in writing news stories can be 
secured at home or in the classroom as effectively as 
practice in writing short stories, plays, business let- 
ters, or any other special form of composition. 
Newspaper experience may aid the reporter in learn- 
ing how to write his stories, but a newspaper ap- 
prenticeship is not absolutely necessary. However, 
whether he is studying the trade of newspaper writ- 
ing in his home, in a classroom, or in the city room 
of a daily paper, he needs positive instruction in the 
English composition of the newspaper office — rather 
than haphazard criticism and a deluge of don'ts." 
Hence this book is concerned primarily with the 
writing of the news. 

Successful newspaper reporting requires both an 
ability to write good English and an ability to write 
good English in the conventional newspaper form. 
And there is a conventional form for every kind of 
newspaper story. Many editors of the present day 
are trying to break away from the conventional form 
and to evolve a looser and more natural method of 
writing news stories. The results are often bizarre 

viii 



INTRODUCTION 

and sometimes very effective. Certainly originality 
in expression adds much to the interest of news- 
paper stories, and many a good piece of news is 
ruined by a bald, dry recital of facts. Just as the 
good reporter is always one who can give his yarns 
a distinctive flavor, great newspaper stories are sel- 
dom written under the restriction of rules. But no 
young reporter can hope to attain success through 
originality and defiance of rules until he has first 
mastered the fundamental principles of newspaper 
writing. He can never expect to write "the story 
of the year" until he has learned to handle everyday 
news without burying the gist of his stories — any 
more than an artist can hope to paint a living por- 
trait until he has learned, with the aid of rules, to 
.draw the face of a plaster block-head. Hence the 
emphasis upon form and system in this book. And, 
whatever the form may be, the embodiment must be 
clear, concise, grammatical English; that is the ex- 
cuse for the many axioms of simple English gram- 
mar that are introduced side by side with the study 
of the newspaper form. 

The author offers this book as the result of per- 
sonal newspaper experience and of his work as in- 
structor in classes in newspaper writing at the Uni- 
versity of Wisconsin. Every item that is offered 
is the result of an attempt to correct the mistakes 

ix 



INTRODUCTION 

that have appeared most often in the papers of stu- 
dents who are trying to do newspaper writing in 
the classroom. The seemingly disproportionate em- 
phasis upon certain branches of the subject and the 
constant repetition of certain simple principles are 
to be excused by the purpose of the book — to be a 
text-book in the course of study worked out in this 
school of journalism. The use of the fire story as 
typical of all newspaper stories and as a model for 
all newspaper writing is characteristic of this method 
of instruction. Four chapters are devoted to the 
explanation of a single principle which any reader 
could grasp in a moment, because experience has 
shown that an equivalent of four chapters of study 
and practice is required to teach the student the ap- 
plication of this principle and to fix it in his mind 
so thoroughly that he will not forget it in his later 
work of writing more complicated stories. It is 
felt that the beginner needs and must have the de- 
tailed explanation, the constant reiteration and some 
definite rules to guide him in his practice. Hence 
the emphasis upon the conventional form. Since, 
in the application of the newspaper principle of be- 
ginning with the gist of the story, the structure of 
the lead is of greater importance than the rest of the 
story, this book devotes the greater part of its dis- 
cussion to the lead. 



INTRODUCTION 

The suggestions for practice are attached in an 
attempt to give the young newspaper man some 
positive instruction. Most reporters are instructed 
by a system of "don'ts," growled out by busy edi- 
tors; most correspondents receive no instruction at 
all — a positive suggestion now and then cannot but 
help them both. Practice is necessary in the study of 
any form of writing; these suggestions for practice 
embody the method of practice used in this school 
of journalism. The examples are taken from repre- 
sentative papers of the entire country to show the 
student how the stories are actually written in news- 
paper offices. 

Madison, Wisconsin, 

June 3, 1912. 



XI 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER 




PAGE 


I. 


Gathering the News .... 


I 


II. 


News Values 


14 


III. 


Newspaper Terms 


28 


IV. 


The News Story Form . . 


34 


V. 


The Simple Fire Story . 


4i 


VI. 


The Feature Fire Story . . . . 


50 


VII. 


Faults in News Stories . . . . 


75 


VIII. 


Other News Stories 


105 


IX. 


Follow-up and Rewrite Stories 


125 


X. 


Reports of Speeches 


143 


XI. 


Interviews 


169 


XII. 


Court Reporting . 


192 


XIII. 


Social News and Obituaries 


204 


XIV. 


Sporting News 


219 


XV. 


Human Interest Stories . . . . 


233 


XVI. 


Dramatic Reporting 


259 


XVII. 


Style Book 


276 


Appendix I — Suggestions for Study 


294 


Appendix II — News Stories to Be Corrected 


3" 


Index 




339 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
AND CORRESPONDENCE 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
AND CORRESPONDENCE 



GATHERING THE NEWS 

Unlike almost any other profession, that of a 
newspaper reporter combines two very different ac- 
tivities — the gathering of news and the writing of 
news. Part of the work must be done in the office 
and part of it outside on the street. At his desk in 
the office a reporter is engaged in the literary, or 
pseudo-literary, occupation of writing news stories; 
outside on the street he is a detective gathering news 
and hunting for elusive facts to be combined later 
into stories. Although the two activities are closely 
related, each requires a different sort of ability and 
a different training. In a newspaper office the two 
activities are rarely separated, but a beginner must 
learn each duty independent of the other. This 
book will not attempt to deal with both ; it will con- 

i 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

fine itself mainly to one phase, the pseudo-literary 
activity of writing news stories. 

However, introductory to the discussion of the 
writing of newspaper stories, we may glance at the 
other side of the newspaper writer's work — the 
gathering of the news. Where the newspaper gets its 
news and how it gets its news can be learned only 
by experience, for it differs in different cities and 
with different papers. But an outline of the back- 
ground of news-gathering may assist us in writing 
the news after it is gathered and ready for us to 
write. 

1. Reporter vs. Correspondents — There are two ca- 
pacities in which one may write news stories for a 
paper. He may work on the staff as a regular re- 
porter or he may supply news from a distance as a 
correspondent. In the one case he works under the 
personal supervision of a city editor and spends his 
entire time at the regular occupation of gathering 
and writing news. As a correspondent he works in 
a distant city, under the indirect supervision of the 
city, telegraph, or state editor, and sends in only the 
occasional stories that seem to be of interest to his 
paper. In either case the same rules apply to his 
news gathering and to his news writing. And in 
either case the length of his employment depends 
upon his ability to turn in clean copy in the form in 

2 



GATHERING THE NEWS 

which his paper wishes to print the news. Both the 
reporter and the correspondent must write their 
stories in the same form and must look at news and 
the sources of news from almost the same point of 
view. Whatever is said of the reporter applies 
equally to the correspondent. 

2. Expected and Unexpected News The daily- 
news may be divided into two classes from the news- 
paper's point of view: expected and unexpected 
news. Expected news includes all stories of which 
the paper has a previous knowledge. Into this class 
fall all meetings, speeches, sermons, elections, ath- 
letic contests, social events, and daily happenings 
that do not come unexpectedly. They are the events 
that are announced beforehand and tipped off to the 
paper in time for the editor to send out a reporter 
to cover them personally. These events are of 
course recorded in the office, and each day the editor 
has a certain number of them, a certain amount of 
news that he is sure of. Each day he looks over his 
book to note the events that are to take place during 
that day and sends out his reporters to cover them. 

The other class includes the stories that break un- 
expectedly. Accidents, deaths, fires, storms, and 
other unexpected happenings come without warning 
and the reporting of them cannot be arranged for 
in advance. These are the stories that the paper is 
» 3 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

most anxious to get and the things for which the 
whole staff always has its eyes and ears open. Sel- 
dom are they heard of in time for the paper to have 
them covered personally, and the reporting of such 
stories becomes a separate sort of work — the gather- 
ing' and sorting of the facts that can be obtained 
only from chance witnesses. 

3. News Sources. — There are certain sources from 
which the paper gets most of its tips of expected 
events and its knowledge of unexpected events. 
These every editor knows about. The courts, the 
public records, the public offices, the churches, and 
the schools furnish a great many of the tips of ex- 
pected news. The police stations, the fire stations, 
the hospitals, and the morgues furnish most of the 
tips of unexpected news. Whenever an event is go- 
ing to happen, or whenever an unexpected occur- 
rence does happen, a notice of it is to be found in 
some one of these sources. Such a notice or a casual 
word from any one is called a "tip" and indicates 
the possibility of securing a story. The securing of 
the story is another matter. A would-be reporter 
may get good practice from studying the stories in 
the daily papers and trying to discover or imagine 
from what source the original news tip came. He 
will soon find that certain classes of stories always 
come from certain sources and that there is a per- 

4 



GATHERING THE NEWS 

ceptible amount of routine evident in the accounts of 
the most unexpected occurrences. 

4. Runs and Assignments. — Between the news tip 
and the finished copy for the compositor there is a 
vast amount of news gathering, which falls to the 
lot of the reporter. This is handled by a system of 
runs and special assignments. A reporter usually 
has his own run, or beat, on which he gathers news. 
His run may cover a certain number of police sta- 
tions or the city hall or any group of regular news 
sources. Each day he must visit the various sources 
of news on his beat and gather the tips and whatever 
facts about the stories behind the tips that he can. 
The tips that he secures furnish him with clues to 
the stories, and it is his business to get the facts 
behind all of the tips on his beat and to write them 
up, unless a tip opens up a story that is too big for 
him to handle alone without neglecting his beat. 

Assignments are used to cover the stories that do 
not come in through the regular sources, and to han- 
dle the big stories that are unearthed on the regular 
beats. The editor turns over to the reporter the tip 
that he has received and instructs him to go out and 
get the facts. A paper's best reporters are used al- 
most entirely on assignments, and when they go out 
after a story they practically become detectives. 
They follow every clue that the tip suggests and 

5 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

every clue that is opened up as they progress; they 
hunt down the facts until they are reasonably sure 
that they have secured the whole story. The result 
may not be worth writing, or it may be worth a 
place on the front page, but the reporter must get 
to the bottom of it. Whether on a beat or on an 
assignment every reporter must have his ears open 
for a tip of some unexpected story and must secure 
the facts or inform the editor at once. It is in this 
way that a paper gets a scoop, or beat, on its rivals 
by printing a story before the other papers have 
heard of it. 

5. Interviews for Facts. — To cover an assignment 
and secure the facts of a story is not at all easy. If 
the reporter could be a personal witness of the hap- 
pening which he is to report, the task would be sim- 
pler. But, outside the case of expected events, he 
rarely hears of the occurrence until after it is past 
and the excitement has subsided. Then he must 
find the persons who witnessed the occurrence or 
who know the facts, and get the story from them. 
Perhaps he has to see a dozen people to get the in- 
formation he wants. Getting facts from people in 
this way is called interviewing — interviewing for 
facts, as distinguished from formal interviewing for 
the purpose of securing a statement or an opinion 
that is to be printed with the name of the man who 

6 



GATHERING THE NEWS 

utters it. Although a dozen interviews may be 
necessary for a single story, not one of them is men- 
tioned in the story, for they are of no importance 
except in the facts that they supply. 

For example, suppose a reporter is sent out to get 
the story of a fire that has started an hour or two 
before he goes on duty. All that his editor gives 
him is the tip from the fire department, or from 
some other source, of a fire at such-and-such an ad- 
dress. When he arrives at the scene there is nothing 
left but smoldering ruins with perhaps an engine 
throwing a stream on the smoking debris and a few 
by-standers still loitering about. He can see with 
his own eyes what kind of building has burned, and 
how completely it has been destroyed. A by-stander 
may be able to tell him who occupied the building or 
what it was used for, but he must hunt for some one 
else who can give him the exact facts that his paper 
wants. Perhaps he can find the tenant and learn 
from him what his loss has been. The tenant can 
give him the name of the owner and may be able to 
tell him something about the origin of the fire. He 
must find the owner to get the value of the building 
and the amount of insurance carried. Perhaps he 
cannot find any of these people and must ask the 
fire chief or some one else to give him what facts 
and estimates he can. If the fire is at all serious he 

7 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

must find out who was killed or injured and get 
their names and addresses and the nature of their 
injury or the manner of their death. Perhaps he 
can talk to some of the people who had narrow es- 
capes, or interview the friends or relatives of the 
dead. Everywhere he turns new clues open up, and 
he must follow each one of them in turn until he is 
sure that he has all the facts. 

6. Point of View. — The task would be easy if 
every one could tell the reporter just the facts that 
his paper wants. But in the confusion every one 
is excited and fairly bubbling over with rumors and 
guesses which may later turn out to be false. Each 
person who is interested in the incident sees and tells 
it only from his own point of view. Obviously the 
reporter's paper does not want the facts from many 
different points of view, nor even from the point of 
view of the fire department, of the owner, or of the 
woman who was rescued from the third floor. The 
paper wants the story from a single point of view — 
the point of view of an uninterested spectator. Con- 
sequently the reporter must get the facts through 
interviews with a dozen different people, discount 
possible exaggeration and falsity due to excitement, 
make allowances for the different points of view, 
harmonize conflicting statements, and sift from the 
mass what seems to him to be the truth. Then he 

8 



GATHERING THE NEWS 

must write the story from the uninterested point of 
view of the public, which wants to hear the exact 
facts of the fire told in an unprejudiced way. Never 
does the story mention any of the interviews behind 
it except when the reporter is afraid of some state- 
ment and wants to put the responsibility upon the 
person who gave it to him. And so the finished 
story that we read in the next morning's paper is 
the composite story of the fire chief, the owner, the 
tenant, the man who discovered the fire, the widow 
who was driven from her little flat, the little girl 
who was carried down a ladder through the smoke, 
the man who lost everything he had in the world, 
and the cynic who watched the flames from behind 
the fireline — all massed together and sifted and re- 
told in an impersonal way from the point of view of 
a by-stander who has been everywhere through the 
flames and has kept his brain free from the terror 
and excitement of it all. 

The same is true of every story that is printed in 
a newspaper. Every story must be secured in the 
same way — whether it is the account of a business 
transaction, a bank robbery, a political scandal, a 
murder, a reception, or a railroad wreck. Seldom 
is it possible to find any one person who knows all 
the facts just as the newspaper wants them, and 
many a story that is worth but a stickful in the first 

9 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

edition is the result of two hours' running about 
town, half a dozen telephone calls, and a dozen in- 
terviews. That is the way the news is gathered, 
and that is the part of the reporter's work that he 
must learn by experience. But after all the gather- 
ing is finished and he has the facts, the writing of 
the story remains. If the reporter knows how to 
write the facts when he has them, his troubles are 
cut in half, for nowadays a reporter who writes well 
is considered a more valuable asset than one who 
cannot write and simply has a nose for news. 

7. News-Gathering Agencies — This account of 
news gathering is of course told from the point of 
view of the reporter. Naturally it assumes a dif- 
ferent aspect in the editor's eyes. Much of the day's 
news does not have to be gathered at all. A steady 
stream of news flows in ready for use from the 
great news-gathering agencies, the Associated Press, 
the United Press, the City Press, etc., and from cor- 
respondents. Many stories are merely summaries 
of speeches, bulletins, announcements, pamphlets 
and other printed matter that comes to the editorial 
office, and many stories come already written. Al- 
most everybody is looking for publicity in these days 
and the editor does not always have to hunt the 
news with an army of ferrets. Cooperation in news 
gathering has simplified the whole matter. But it 

10 



GATHERING THE NEWS 

all has to be written and edited. That is why great 
reporters are no longer praised for their cleverness 
in worming their way to elusive facts, but for their 
ability to write a good story. That is why we no 
longer hear so much about beats and scoops but 
more about clean copy and "literary masterpieces/' 

8. How the Correspondent Works The corre- 
spondent gathers news very much as the reporter 
does, but he does it without the help of a city editor. 
He must be his own director and keep his own book 
of tips, for he has no one to make out his assign- 
ments beforehand. He has to watch for what news 
he can get by himself and send it to his paper of 
his own accord, except occasionally when his paper 
instructs him to cover a particularly large story. 
But he gets his tips and runs down his facts just as 
a reporter does. Just as much alertness and just as 
much ability to write are required of him. 

The correspondent's work is made more difficult 
by what is called news values. Distance affects the 
importance of the facts that he secures and the 
length of the stories he writes. He must weigh 
every event for its interest to readers a hundred or 
a thousand miles away. What may be of immense 
importance in his community may have no interest 
at all for readers outside that community. He must 
see everything with the eyes of a stranger, and this 

II 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

must influence his whole work of news gathering 
and news writing. This matter will be taken up at 
greater length in the next chapter. 

9. Correspondent's Relation to His Paper. — The re- 
lations of a correspondent to the paper or news as- 
sociation to which he is sending news can best be 
learned by experience. Every paper has different 
rules for its correspondents and different directions 
in regard to the sort of news it wants. The rules 
regarding the mailing of copy and the sending of 
stories or queries by telegraph are usually sent out 
in printed form by each individual paper to its cor- 
respondents. But while gathering news and writing 
stories for a distant paper, a correspondent must al- 
ways regard himself as a reporter and write his 
stories in the form in which they are to appear in 
print if he wishes to remain correspondent for any 
length of time. The following rules are taken from 
the "instructions to correspondents" sent out 
on a printed card to the correspondents- of the St. 
Louis Star: 

QUERY BY WIRE ON ALL STORIES you consider are 
worth telegraphing, unless you are absolutely certain The 
Star wants you to send the story without query, or in case 
of a big story breaking suddenly near edition time. If you 
have not time to query, get a reply and send such matter as 
might be ordered before the next edition time ; send the story 
in the shortest possible number of words necessary to tell it, 
asking if additional matter is desired. 

12 



GATHERING THE NEWS 

Write your queries so they can be understood. Never send 
a "blind" query. If John Smith, a confirmed bachelor, whose 
age is 80 years, elopes with and marries the daughter of the 
woman who jilted him when he was a youth, say so in as few 
words as possible, but be sure to convey the dramatic news 
worth of the story in your query. Do not say, "Bachelor 
elopes with girl, daughter of woman he knew a long time 
ago." In itself the story which this query tells might be worth 
printing, but it would not be half so good a story as the 
elopement of John Smith, 80, bachelor, woman hater, with the 
daughter of his old sweetheart. 

When a good story breaks close to edition time and the 
circumstances justify it, use the long-distance telephone, but 
first be reasonably certain The Star will not get the story from 
another source. 

Write your stories briefly. The Star desires to remunerate 
its correspondents according to the worth of a story and not 
for so many words. One good story of 200 words with the 
right "punch" in the introduction is worth a dozen strung 
over as many dozen pages of copy paper with the real story 
in the last paragraph of each. Tell your story in simple, 
every-day conversational words : quit when you have finished. 
Relegate the details. Unless it is a case of identification in a 
murder mystery, or some similar big story, no one cares about 
the color of the man's hair. Get the principal facts in the 
first paragraph — stop soon after. 

Send as much of your stuff as possible by mail, especially 
if you have the story in the late afternoon and are near 
enough to St. Louis to reach The Star by 9 o'clock the next 
morning. If necessary, send the letter special delivery. 

Don't stop working on a good story when you have all the 
facts; if there are photographs to be obtained, get the photo- 
graphs, especially if the principals in the story are persons of 
standing, and more especially if they are women. 

Correspondents will appreciably increase their worth to 
The Star and enhance their earning capacity by observing 
these rules. 

13 



II 

NEWS VALUES 

Before any one can hope to write for a newspaper 
he must know something about news values — some- 
thing about the essence of interest that makes one 
story worth a column and cuts down another, of 
equal importance from other points of view, to a 
stickful. He must recognize the relative value of 
facts so that he can distinguish the significant part 
of his story and feature it accordingly. The ques- 
tion is a delicate one and yet a very reasonable and 
logical one. The ideal of a newspaper, according 
to present-day ethics, is to print news. The daily 
press is no longer a golden treasury of contemporary 
literature, not even, perhaps, an exponent of political 
principles. Its primary purpose is to report con- 
temporary history — to keep us informed concerning 
the events that are taking place each day in the 
world about us. 

To this idea is added another. A newspaper must 
be interesting. In these days of many newspapers 
few readers are satisfied with merely being in- 

14 



NEWS VALUES 

formed; they want to be informed in a way that 
interests them. To this demand every one connected 
with a newspaper office tries to cater. It is the de- 
fense of the sensational yellow journals and it is 
the reason for everything in the daily press. There 
is so much to read that people will not read things 
that do not interest them, and the paper that suc- 
ceeds is the paper that interests the greatest number 
of readers. Circulation cannot be built up by print- 
ing uninteresting stuff that the majority of readers 
are not interested in, and circulation is necessary to 
success. , 

This desire to interest readers is behind the whole 
question of news values. News is primarily the ac- 
count of the latest events, but, more than that, it is 
the account of the latest events that interest readers 
who are not connected with these events. Further 
than that, it is the account of the latest events that 
interest the greatest number of readers. Susie 
Brown may have sprained her ankle. The fact is 
absorbingly interesting to Susie; it is even rather 
interesting to her family and friends, even to her 
enemies. If she is well known in the little town in 
which she lives her accident may be interesting 
enough to the townspeople for the local weekly to 
print a complete account of it. However, the event 
is interesting only to people who know Susie, and 

15 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

after all they do not comprise a very large number. 
Hence her accident has no news value outside the 
local weekly. On the other hand, had Susie sprained 
her ankle in some very peculiar manner, the acci- 
dent might be of interest to people who do not know 
Susie. Suppose that she had tripped on her gown 
as she was ascending the steps of the altar to be 
married. Such an accident would be very unusual, 
almost unheard of. People in general are interested 
in unusual things, and many, many readers would be 
interested in reading about Susie's unusual accident 
although they did not know Susie or even the town 
in which she lives. Such a story would be the re- 
port of a late event that would interest many people ; 
hence it would have a certain amount of news value. 
Of course, the reader loses sight of Susie in reading 
of her accident — it might as well have been Mary 
Jones — but that is because Susie has no news value 
in herself. That is another matter. 

1. Classes of Readers — Realizing that his story 
must be of interest to the greatest number of people, 
the reporter must remember the sort of people for 
whom he is writing. That complicates the whole 
matter. If he were writing for a single class of 
readers he could easily give them the news that 
would interest them. But he is not; he is writing 
for many classes of people, for all classes of people. 

16 



NEWS VALUES 

And he must interest them all. He is writing for 
the business man in his office, for the wife in the 
home, for the ignorant, for the highly educated, for 
the rich and the poor, for the old and the young, for 
doctors, lawyers, bankers, laborers, ministers, and 
women. All of them buy his paper to hear the latest 
news told in a way that interests them, and he has 
to cater to each and to all of them. If he were 
simply writing for business men he would give them 
many columns of financial news, but that would not 
interest tired laborers. An extended account of the 
doings of a Presbyterian convention would not at- 
tract the great class of men with sporting inclina- 
tions, and a story of a very pretty exhibition of 
scientific boxing would not appeal to the wife at 
home. They all buy the paper, and they all want to 
be interested, and the paper must, therefore, print 
stories that interest at least the majority of them. 
That is the question of news values. The news 
must be the account of the latest events that in- 
terest the greatest number of readers of all classes. 
This search for the universally-interesting news 
is the reason behind the sensational papers. Al- 
though the interests of any individual differ in al- 
most every aspect from the interests of his neighbor, 
there is one sort of news that interests them both, 
that interests every human being. That is the news 

17 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

that appeals to the emotions, to the heart. It is the 
news that deals with human life — human nature — 
human interest news the papers call it. In it every 
human being is interested. However trivial may be 
the event, if it can be described in a way that will 
make the reader feel the point of view of the human 
beings who suffered or struggled or died or who 
were made happy in the event, every other human 
being will read it with interest. Human sympathy 
makes one want to feel joy and pain from the stand- 
point of others. Naturally that sort of news is al- 
ways read; naturally the paper that devotes itself 
to such news is always read and is always successful 
as far as circulation and profits go. The papers that 
have that ideal of news behind them and forsake 
every other ideal for it are called sensational papers. 
Whether they are good or not is another question. 

With this idea of what news values means and 
the idea that news is worth while only when it in- 
terests the largest number of people of all classes, 
we may try to look for the things that make news 
interesting to the greatest number of people of all 
classes. The reporter must know not only what 
news is, but what makes it news. He must be able 
to see the things in a story that will interest the 
greatest number of people of all classes. These are 
many and intricate. 

18 



NEWS VALUES 

2. Timeliness. — In the first place, news must be 
new. A story must have timeliness. Our readers 
want to know what happened to-day, for yesterday 
and last week are past and gone. They want to be 
up to the minute in their information on current 
events. Therefore a story that is worth printing to- 
day will not be worth printing to-morrow or, at 
most, on the day after to-morrow. Events must be 
chronicled just as soon as they happen. Further- 
more, the story itself must show that it is new. It 
must tell the reader at once that the event which it 
is chronicling happened to-day or last night — 
at least since the last edition of the paper. That is 
why the reporter must never fail to put the time in 
the introduction of his story. Editors grow gray- 
headed trying to keep up with the swift passing of 
events, and they are always very careful to tell their 
readers that the events which they are chronicling 
are the latest events. That is the reason why every 
editor hates the word "yesterday" and tries to get 
"to-day" or "this morning" into the lead of every 
story. Hence, to the newspaper, everything that 
happened since midnight last night is labeled "this 
morning," and everything that happened since six 
o'clock yesterday afternoon is labeled "last night." 
Anything before that hour must be labeled "yester- 
day," but it goes in as "late yesterday afternoon," 
3 19 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

if it possibly can. Hence the first principle of news 
values is timeliness — news is news only because it 
just happened and can be spoken of as one of the 
events of "to-day" or of "late yesterday." 

3. Distance. — Distance is another factor in news 
values. In spite of fast trains and electric telegraphs 
human beings are clannish and local in their inter- 
ests. They are interested mainly in things and per- 
sons that they know, and news from outside their 
ken must be of unusual significance to attract them. 
They like to read about things that they have seen 
and persons that they know, because they are slow 
to exert their imaginations enough to appreciate 
things that they do not know personally. Hence 
every newspaper is primarily local, even though it is 
a metropolitan daily, and news from a distance plays 
a very subordinate part. It has been said that New 
York papers cannot see beyond the Alleghanies ; it is 
equally true that most papers cannot see. more 
than a hundred miles from the printing office, 
except in the case of national news. Any 
newspaper's range of news sources goes out 
from the editorial room in concentric circles. 
Purely personal news must come from within 
the range of the paper's general circulation, 
because people do not care to read purely personal 
news about persons whom they do not know. Other 

20 



NEWS VALUES 

news is limited ordinarily to the region with which 
the paper's readers are personally acquainted — the 
state, perhaps — because subscribers unconsciously 
wish to hear about places with which they are per- 
sonally acquainted. Any news that comes from 
outside this larger circle must be nation-wide or very 
unusual in its interest. A story that may be worth 
a column in El Paso, Texas, would not be worth 
printing in New York because El Paso is hardly 
more than a name to most New York newspaper 
readers. In the same way, the biggest stories in 
New York are not worth anything in Texas, because 
Texas readers are not personally interested in New 
York — they cannot say, "Yes, I know that building; 
I walked down that street the other day; oh, you 
can't tell me anything about the subway." News is 
primarily local, and the first thing a correspondent 
must learn is how to distinguish the stories that are 
purely local in their interest from those that would 
be worth printing a hundred miles away in a paper 
read by people who do not know the places or per- 
sons involved in the story. Colonel Smith may be 
a very big frog in the little puddle of Smith's Cor- 
ners, and his doings may be big news to the week- 
lies all over his county, but he has to do something 
very unusual before his name is worth a line in a 
paper two counties away. He is nothing but a 

21 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

name to people who do not know him or know of 
him, and therefore they are not interested in him. 
Every correspondent must watch for the stories 
that have something more than a local interest, some 
element of news in them that will carry them over 
the obstacle of distance and make them interesting 
to any reader. 

It would be impossible to analyze news values to 
the extent of telling every conceivable element of 
interest that will overcome the obstacle of distance. 
Yet there are certain elements that always make a 
newspaper story interesting to any one. 

4. loss of Life. — One of these is the loss of hu- 
man life. For some strange reason every human 
being is interested in the thought of death. Just 
as soon as a story mentions death it is worth print- 
ing, and if it has a number of deaths to tell about 
it is worth printing anywhere. Any fire, any rail- 
road wreck, or any other disaster in which a number 
of persons are killed or injured makes a story that 
is worth sending anywhere. There seems to be a 
joy for the reader in the mere number of fatalities. 
A story that can begin with "Ten people were 
killed," or "Seven men met their death," attracts a 
reader's interest at once. As a very natural result, 
and justly, too, newspapers have been broadly ac- 
cused of exaggeration for the sake of a large num- 

22 



NEWS VALUES 

ber. But at present many papers are inclined to 
underestimate rather than overestimate, perhaps to 
avoid this accusation. In a number of instances in 
the past year, among them the Shirtwaist Factory 
fire in New York, the first figures were smaller than 
the official count printed later. That does not mean, 
however, that newspapers do not want stories in- 
volving loss of life. Any story which involves a 
large number of fatalities will carry a long distance, 
if for no other reason. 

5. Big Names. — Another element of news values is 
the interest in prominent people. The mere mention 
of a man or a woman who is known widely attracts 
attention. Although Colonel Smith of Smith's Cor- 
ners has to do something very unusual to get his 
name in any paper outside his county, the slightest 
thing that President Taft does is printed in every 
paper in the country. It is simply because of our 
interest in the man himself. Some names give a 
story news value because the names are widely 
known politically or financially, some names because 
they are simply notorious. But any name that is 
recognized at once, for any reason, gives a story 
news value. 

6. Property Loss. — Akin to man's love for any ac- 
count that involves large loss of human life, is his 
love of any story that tells about a huge loss of 

23 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

property. The mere figures seem to have a charm ; 
any story that can begin with awesome figures, like 
"Two million dollars/' "One hundred automobiles," 
"Ten city blocks," has news value. Hence any story 
that involves a large loss that can be expressed in 
figures has the power to carry a great distance. 

7. TJnusualness. — It is safe to say that newspaper 
readers are interested in anything unusual. It does 
not matter whether it is a thing, a person, an action, 
a misfortune ; so long as it is strange and out of the 
range of ordinary lives, it is interesting. Many, if 
not most, newspaper stories have nothing but the 
element of strangeness in them to give them news 
value, but if they are sufficiently strange and un- 
usual they may be copied all over the country. An 
unusual origin or an unusual rescue will give an un- 
important fire great news value. And so with every 
other kind of story. 

8. Human Interest. —Along with the element of the 
strange and unusual, goes the human interest ele- 
ment. Any story that will make us laugh or make 
us cry has news value. Hundreds of magazines are 
issued monthly with nothing in them but fictitious 
stories that are intended to arouse our emotions, and 
newspapers are beginning to realize that they can 
interest their readers in the same way. No life is so 
prosaic that it is not full of incidents that make one 

24 



NEWS VALUES 

laugh or cry, and when these stories can be told in 
a way that will make any reader feel the same emo- 
tions, they have news value that will carry them a 
long distance. Obviously their success depends very 
largely upon the way they are told. 

9. Personal Appeal. — Another element that may 
give a story news value is that of personal appeal or 
application to the reader's own daily life. Men are 
primarily egoistic and selfish and nothing interests 
them more than things that affect them personally. 
They can read complacently and without interest of 
the misfortunes and joys of others, but just as soon 
as anything affects their own daily lives, even a 
little, they want to hear about it. Perhaps the price 
of butter has gone up a few cents or the gas com- 
pany has reduced its rates from eighty cents to 
seventy-seven. Every reader is interested at once, 
for the news affects his own daily life. Sometimes 
this personal appeal is due merely to the reader's 
familiarity with the persons or places mentioned in 
the story; sometimes it is due to the story's appli- 
cation to his business life, his social or religious ac- 
tivities, or to any phase of his daily existence. That 
is the reason, why political news interests every one, 
for we all feel that the management of the govern- 
ment has an influence on our own lives. The story 
of any political maneuver — especially if it is one 

25 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

that may be looked upon as bad or good — carries 
farther than any other story. Show that your story 
tells of something that has even the slightest effect 
on the lives of a large number of people and it needs 
no other element to give it news value. 

10. Local Reasons. — These factors and many others 
give news stories a news value that will carry them 
a long distance and make them interesting in com- 
munities far from their source. Many local reasons 
may enhance the value of a story for local papers. 
A paper's policy or some campaign that it is waging 
may give an otherwise unimportant event a tremen- 
dous significance. If an unimportant person is 
slightly injured while leaving a trolley car the story 
is hardly worth a line of type. But if such an item 
should come to a newspaper while it is carrying on 
a campaign against the local street railway company, 
the story would probably be written and printed in 
great detail. Any slight occurrence that may be in 
line with a paper's political beliefs would receive an 
amount of space far out of proportion with its or- 
dinary news worth. News value is a very change- 
able and indefinite thing, and there are countless 
reasons why any given story should be of interest to 
a large number of readers. And the possibility of 
interesting a large number of readers is the basis of 
news value. 

26 



NEWS VALUES 

11. The Feature — In connection with the study of 
news values the question of feature is important. In 
editorial offices one is constantly hearing the word 
"feature/' and reporters are constantly admonished 
to "play up the feature" of their stories. Feature is 
the word that editors use to signify the essence of 
news value. Every story that is printed is printed 
because of some fact in it that makes it interesting — 
gives it news value. The element in the story that 
makes it interesting and worth printing is the fea- 
ture. The feature may be some prominent name, a 
large list of fatalities, a significant amount of prop- 
erty destroyed, or merely the unusualness of the in- 
cident. This feature is the element that makes the 
story news; therefore it is used to attract attention 
to the story. Every newspaper story displays like a 
placard in its headlines the reason why it was 
printed — the element in it that makes it interesting. 
"Playing up the feature" is simply the act of bring- 
ing this feature to the front so that it will attract at- 
tention to the story. Just how this is done we shall 
see later. But when, as a reporter, you are looking 
for a feature to play up in your lead, remember that 
the feature to be played up is the thing in the story 
that gives the story news value. And few stories 
have more than one claim to news value, more than 
one feature. 

27 



Ill 

NEWSPAPER TERMS 

The newspaper vernacular that is used in the edi- 
torial and press rooms of any daily paper is a curious 
mixture of literary abbreviations and technical print- 
ing terms. It is the result of the strange mingling 
of the literary trade of writing with the mechanical 
trade of setting type. For that reason a green re- 
porter has difficulty in understanding the instruc- 
tions that he receives until he has been in the office 
long enough to learn the office slang. It would be 
impossible to list all of the expressions that might 
be heard in one day, but a knowledge of the com- 
monest words will enable a reporter to get the drift 
of his editor's instructions. 

When a young man secures a position as reporter 
for a newspaper he begins as a cab reporter and is 
usually said to be on the staff of his paper. His 
sphere of activity is confined to the editorial room, 
where the news is written; his relations with the 
business office, where advertising, circulation, and 

28 



NEWSPAPER TERMS 

other business matters are handled, consists of the 
weekly duty of drawing his pay. His chief enemies 
are in the printing office where his literary efforts are 
set up in type and printed. His superiors are called 
editors and exist in varying numbers, depending 
upon the size of his paper. The man who directs the 
reporters is usually called the city editor, or perhaps 
the day or night city editor; above him there are 
managing editors and other persons in authority 
with whom the cub is not concerned ; and the favored 
mortals who enjoy a room by themselves and write 
nothing but editorials are called editors or editorial 
writers. There may also be a telegraph editor, a 
sporting editor, a Sunday editor, and many other 
editors ; or if the paper is small and poor all of these 
editors may be condensed into one very busy man. 
On a city daily of average size there are desk men, 
or copyreaders, who work under editorial direction 
but feel superior to the reporter because they correct 
his literary efforts. 

The reporter's work consists of gathering and 
writing news. In the office this is called covering 
and writing stories. He is ordinarily put on a beat, 
or run; this is simply a daily route or round of news 
sources which he follows as regularly as a policeman 
walks his beat. The reporter's work on a special 
story outside his beat is called an assignment. Any 

29 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

hint that he may recede concerning a bit of news 
is called a tip. Any bit of news that he secures to 
the exclusion of his paper's rivals is called a beat, 
or a scoop. 

Everything that is written for the paper, whether 
it be a two-line personal item or a two-column re- 
port, is called a story, or a yarn, and from the time 
the story is written until it appears in the printed 
paper it is called copy. If the story is well written 
and needs few corrections it is called clean copy. 
After the story is written it is turned over to the 
copyreader to be edited. The copyreader corrects it 
and writes the headlines or heads; then he sends it to 
the composing room to be set in type by the com- 
positor. The story itself is usually set up on a lino- 
type machine and the heads are set up by hand. For 
the sake of keeping the two parts of the copy to- 
gether the reporter or the copyreader ordinarily 
gives the story a name, such as "Fire No. 2" ; the bit 
of lead on which the name is printed is called a slug 
and the story is said to be slugged. If at any. time in 
its journey from the reporter's pencil to the printed 
page, the editor decides not to print the story, he 
kills it ; otherwise he runs it, or allows it to go into 
the paper. When the story is in type, an impression, 
or proof, is taken of it, and this proof, still called 
copy, comes back to the copyreader or the proof- 

30 



NEWSPAPER TERMS 

reader for the correction of typbgraphical errors. 
The gathering together of all of the day's stories 
into the form of the final printed page is called mak- 
ing up the paper ; this is usually done by some one 
of the editors. In like manner, the finished aspect 
of the paper is called the make-up. 

Some stories are said to be big stories because of 
unusual news value. When any news comes unex- 
pectedly it is said to break; and when any story 
comes in beforehand and must be held over, it is 
said to be released on the day on which it may be 
printed. The first paragraph of any story is called 
the lead (pronounced "leed") ; the word lead is also 
used to designate several introductory paragraphs 
that are tacked on at the beginning of a long story, 
which may be of the nature of a running story (as 
the running story of a football game), or may be 
made up of several parts, written by one or more 
reporters. In general, that part of a story which 
presents the gist or summary of the entire story at 
the beginning is called the lead. The most interest- 
ing thing in the story, the part that gives it news 
value, is called the feature, and playing up the feat- 
ure consists in telling the most interesting thing in 
the first line of the lead or in the headline. An en- 
tire story is said to be played up if it is given a 
prominent place in the paper. A feature story is 

3i 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

either a story that* is thus played up or a story that 
is written for some other reason than news value, 
such as human interest. When a story is rewritten 
to give a new interest to old facts it is called a re- 
write story; when it is rewritten to include new 
facts or developments, it is called a follow-up, sec- 
ond-day, or follow story. 

Because of the close relation between the editorial 
room and the printing* office many printing terms are 
commonly heard about the editorial room. All copy 
is measured by the column and by the stickful. A 
column is usually a little less than 1,500 words and a 
stickful is the amount of type that can be set in a 
compositor's stick, the metal frame used in setting 
type by hand — about two inches or 100 words. A 
bit of copy that is set up with a border or a row of 
stars about it is said to be boxed. Whenever copy 
is set with extra space between the lines it is said 
to be leaded (pronounced "leded") — the name is 
taken from the piece of lead that is placed between 
the lines of type. The reporter must gradually learn 
the names of the various kinds of type and the vari- 
ous proofreader's signs that are used to indicate the 
way in which the type is to be set, for the whole 
work of writing the news is governed and limited by 
the mechanical possibilities of the printing office. 
The commonest signs used by the proofreader or the 

32 



NEWSPAPER TERMS 

copyreader, together with instructions for preparing 
copy, are given in the Style Book at the end of this 
volume. (A complete list of proofreader's signs 
can be found in the back of any large dictionary.) 
Style is a word which editors use to cover a multi- 
tude of rules, arbitrary or otherwise, concerning 
capitalization, punctuation, abbreviation, etc. A pa- 
per that uses many capital letters is said to follow an 
up style, and a paper that uses small letters instead 
of capitals whenever there is a choice is said to fol- 
low a down style. Every newspaper has its own 
style and usually prints its rules in a Style Book; 
the Style Book given in this volume has been com- 
piled from many representative newspaper style 
books. It sets forth an average style and the be- 
ginner is advised to follow it closely in his practice 
writing — for, as editors say, "uniformity is better 
than a strict following of style." 



IV 

THE NEWS STORY FORM 

When we come to the writing of the news we find 
that there are many sorts of stories that must be 
written. In the newspaper office they are called 
simply stories without distinction. For the purpose 
of study they may be classified to some extent, but 
this classification must not be taken as hard and fast. 
The commonest kind of story is the simple news 
story. Practically all newspaper reports are news 
stories, but as distinguished from other kinds of 
reports the simple news story is the report of some 
late event or occurrence. It is usually concerned 
with unexpected news, and is the commonest kind of 
story in any newspaper. It is to be distinguished 
from reports of speeches, interview stories, court 
reports, social news, dramatic news, sporting news, 
human-interest stories, and all the rest. The dis- 
tinction is largely one of form and does not exist 
to any great extent in a newspaper office where all 
stories are simply "stories. " 

34 



THE NEWS STORY FORM 

The simple news story is probably the most vari- 
able part of a newspaper. Given the same facts, each 
individual reporter will write the story in his in- 
dividual way and each editor will change it to suit 
his individual taste. No two newspapers have ex- 
actly the same ideal form of news story and no 
newspaper is able to live up to its individual ideal in 
each story. 

But there are general tendencies. Certain things 
are true of all news stories; whether the story be 
the baldest recital of facts or the most sensational 
featuring of an imaginary thrill in a commonplace 
happening, certain characteristics are always present. 
And these characteristics can always be traced to 
one cause — the effort to catch and hold the reader's 
interest. When a busy American glances over his 
newspaper while he sips his breakfast coffee or while 
he clings to a strap on the way to his office, he reads 
only the stories that catch his interest — and he reads 
down the column in any one story only so long as his 
interest is maintained. Hence the ideal news story 
is one which will catch the reader's attention by its 
beginning and hold his interest to the very end. 
This is the principle of all newspaper writing. 

The interest depends, in a large measure, on the 
way the facts are presented. True, certain facts are 
in themselves more interesting to a casual reader 

4 35 



,\ 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

than others, but just as truly other less interesting 
facts may be made as interesting through the report- 
er's skill. The most interesting of stories may lose 
its interest if poorly presented, and facts of the most 
commonplace nature may be made attractive enough 
to hold the reader to the last word. The aim of 
every reporter and of every editor is to make every 
story so attractive and interesting that the most 
casual reader cannot resist reading it. 

In the old days news stories were written in the 
logical order of events just like any other narrative, 
but constant change has brought about a new form, 
as different and individual as any other form of ex- 
pression. Unlike any other imaginable piece of 
writing, the news story discloses its most interesting 
facts first. It does not lead the reader up to a 
startling bit of news by a tantalizing suspense in an 
effort to build up a surprise for him ; it tells its most 
thrilling content first and trusts to his interest to 
lead him on through the details that should logically 
precede the real news. Therefore every editor ad- 
monishes his reporters "to give the gist of the news 
first and the details later." 

There are other reasons for this peculiar reversal 
of the logical order of narrative. Few readers have 
time to read the whole of every story, and yet they 
want to get the news — in the shortest possible time. 

36 



THE NEWS STORY FORM 

Therefore the newspaper very kindly tells the im- 
portant part of each story at the beginning. Then 
if the reader cares to hear the details he can read the 
rest of the story; but he gets the news, anyway. 
Again, if the exigencies of making up the stories 
into a paper of mechanically limited space require 
that a story be cut down, the editor may slash off a 
paragraph or two at the end without depriving the 
story of its interest. Imagine the difficulty of cut- 
ting down a story that is told in its logical order! 
If the real news of the story were in the last para- 
graph it would go in'the slashing, and what would 
be left? Whereas, if the gist of the story comes 
first the editor may run any number of paragraphs 
or even the first paragraph alone and still have a 
complete story. 

The arrangement of news stories in American 
newspapers is thus a very natural one, resulting 
from the exigencies of the business. Just how to fit 
every story to this arrangement is a difficult task. 
However, there are certain rules that the reporter 
may apply to each story, and these are very simple. 

In the first place, almost every story has a feature 
— there is some one thing in it that is out of the or- 
dinary, something that gives it interest and news 
value beyond the interest in the incident behind it. 
No two stories have the same interesting features; 

37 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

if they had, only one of them would be worth print- 
ing and that would be the first. This extraordinary 
feature the reporter must see at once. If a building 
burns he must see quickly what incident in the oc- 
currence will be of interest to readers who are read- 
ing of many fires every day. If John Smith falls off 
a street car the reporter must discover some inter- 
esting fact in connection with Mr. Smith's misfor- 
tune that will be new and attractive to readers who 
do not know John and are bored with accounts of 
other Smiths' accidents. The accident itself may 
be interesting, but the part of the accident that is out 
of the ordinary — the thing that gives the accident 
news value — is the feature of the story, and the 
reporter must tell it first. 

Thoroughly determined to tell the most interesting 
part, the gist, of his story in the first paragraph, the 
reporter must remember that there are certain other 
things about the incident that the reader wants to 
know just as quickly. There are certain questions 
which arise in the reader's mind when the occurrence 
is suggested, and these questions must be answered 
as quickly as they are asked. The questions usually 
take the form of when? where? what? who? how? 
why? If a man falls off the street car we are eager 
to know at once who he was, although we probably 
do not know him, anyway ; where it happened ; when 

38 



THE NEWS STORY FORM 

it happened; how he fell; and why he fell. If there 
is a fire we immediately ask what burned; where it 
was; when it burned; how it burned; and what 
caused it to burn. And the reporter must answer 
these questions with the same breath that tells us 
that a man fell off the car or that there was any fire 
at all. 

The effort to answer these questions at once has 
led to the peculiar form of introduction character- 
istic of every newspaper story. Newspaper people 
call it the lead. It is really nothing but the state- 
ment of the briefest possible answers to all these 
questions in one sentence or one short paragraph. 
It tells the whole story in its baldest aspects and aims 
to satisfy the reader who wants only the gist of the 
story and does not care for the details. When all 
his questions have been answered in one breath he 
is ready to read the details one at a time, but he 
won't be satisfied if he must read all about how the 
fire was discovered before he is told what building 
burned, when it burned, etc. For example : 



Fire of unknown origin caused the 
practical destruction of the famous old 
"Crow's Nest," at Tenth and Cedar 
streets, perhaps the best known and 
oldest landmark in the Second ward, 
yesterday afternoon. — Milwaukee Free 
Press. 

39 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

This is the lead of an ordinary news story — a 
newspaper report of a fire. The lead begins with 
"Fire" because the story has no unusual feature — 
no element in it that is more interesting than the 
fact that there was a fire. The reporter considers 
"Fire" the most important part of his story and be- 
gins with it. As soon as we read the word "Fire" 
we ask, "When ?" — "Where ?" — "What ?" — 
"Why?" — "How?" The reporter answers us in 
the same sentence with his announcement, "yester- 
day afternoon" — "at Tenth and Cedar Streets" — 
"the famous old 'Crow's Nest/ perhaps the best 
known and oldest landmark in the Second ward" — 
"unknown origin." How is not worth answering, 
in this case, beyond the statement that the destruc- 
tion was practically complete. Thus the reporter 
has told us his bit of news and answered our most 
obvious questions about it at the very beginning of 
his story — in one sentence. According to newspa- 
per rules this is a good lead. The order of the an- 
swers will be considered later. For the present we 
are concerned only with the facts that the lead must 
contain. 



THE SIMPLE FIRE STORY 

The simplest news story is the story which has no 
feature — which has no fact in it more important 
than the incident which it reports — e.g., the fire at 
the end of the last chapter. If we recall the various 
elements of news value we note that any incident 
may be given greater news value by the presence of 
some unusual or interesting feature — a great loss of 
life, an unusual time, a strikingly large loss of prop- 
erty, or simply a well-known name. Such a story is 
called a story with a feature, because its interest de- 
pends not so much on the incident itself as upon the 
unusual feature within the incident. On the other 
hand, many news stories do not have features. Many 
stories are worth printing simply because of the in- 
cident which they report, without any unusual feat- 
ure within them. For example, a building may burn 
with no loss of life, no great loss of property, and 
no striking occurrence in connection with the burn- 
ing. Such a fire is worth reporting, but there is no 

4 1 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

fact in the story more interesting than the fact that 
there was a fire ; the story has no feature. 

The leads of these two kinds of stories are dif- 
ferent. When a story has a feature it is customary 
to play up that feature in the first line of the lead. 
If the story has no feature, is simply the record of a 
commonplace event, the lead merely announces the 
incident and answers the reader's questions about it. 

The commonest of featureless stories is the simple 
fire story in which nothing out of the ordinary hap- 
pens, no one is killed, no striking rescues take place, 
and no tremendous amount of property is destroyed. 
This may be taken as typical of all featureless stories. 
The reporter, in writing a report of such a fire, 
merely answers in the lead the questions when, 
where, what, why, and perhaps how, that the reader 
asks concerning the fire. The most striking part 
of the story is that there was a fire ; hence the story 
begins with "Fire." For example: 



Fire today wrecked the top of the 
six-story warehouse at 393 to 395 
Washington street, used by the United 
States army as a medical supply store- 
room for the Department of the East. 
Capt. Edwin Wolf, who is in charge 
of the warehouse, says the loss on tents, 
blankets, cots, and other bedding stored 
on the floors of the building was large. 
— New York Mail. 

42 



THE SIMPLE FIRE STORY 

As one reads down through the rest of the story 
he finds nothing more striking than the fact that 
there was a fire. Therefore there is no particular 
feature. No one was killed; no one was injured; 
the loss was not extraordinary for a New York fire 
— nothing in the story is of greater interest than the 
mere fact that there was a fire. Hence the story be- 
gins with the word "Fire." Notice that it does not 
begin "A fire" or "The fire" — for the simple reason 
that the word fire does not need an article before it. 
The editor will also tell you that it is not considered 
good to begin a story with an article, for the begin- 
ning is the most important part of a story and it is 
foolish to waste that advantageous place on unim- 
portant words. 

The first word tells the reader that there has been 
a fire. He immediately asks where ? — what burned ? 
— when? — how much was lost? And the reporter 
proceeds to answer his questions in their order of 
importance. The reporter who wrote this story ap- 
parently thought that the time was of greatest im- 
portance and slipped it in at once — "today." He 
might just as well have left the time until the end 
of the sentence because it is not of very great in- 
terest. He considers the question "Where" of next 
importance, and answers with "the top of the six- 
story warehouse at 393 to 395 Washington Street." 

43 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

The question "what?" he answers with a clause, 
"used by the United States army as a medical supply 
store-room for the Department of the East." He 
does not try to answer the question "why?" because, 
as the rest of the story tells us, no one knew exactly 
what caused the fire. And as for the "How?" there 
is nothing extraordinary in the way that it burned 
beyond the fact that it burned. Thus, in one sen- 
tence, he has answered all four questions about the 
fire, except a little query concerning the amount of 
the loss. That he considers worth a separate sen- 
tence of details. 

This is not a perfect lead. Many editors would 
consider it faulty, but it illustrates one way of writ- 
ing the lead of a featureless fire story. Obvious- 
ly there are faults; for instance, the time is 
given an undue amount of emphasis and the cause 
is omitted. 

Suppose that we construct another lead from the 
same story — a lead which would be more in ac- 
cordance with the logic of newspaper writing. 
We shall begin with the word "fire,"- but after it 
we shall slip in a little mention of the cause 
since to the reader not directly acquainted with the 
property that point is always of the greatest im- 
portance. Then we shall tell where the fire was 
and after that what was burned. And last of all 

44 



THE SIMPLE FIRE STORY 

we shall give the time since that is of least im- 
portance to the average reader. This would be 
the result : 

Fire of unknown origin wrecked the 
top of the six-story warehouse at 393- 
395 Washington street, used by the 
United States army as a medical sup- 
ply store-room for the Department of 
the East, destroying a large number of 
tents, blankets, cots, and other bedding, 
today. 

We might as well have put the what before the 
where or altered the lead in any other way. But we 
would always begin with the word "fire" and answer 
all the questions that the reader might ask — in one 
short simple sentence. This constitutes our lead. 
We have told the casual reader what he wants to 
know about the fire. We give him more details 
about the fire if he wants to read them, but after we 
have stated the case clearly in the lead we no longer 
reckon his time so carefully and allow ourselves 
some latitude in the telling. After the lead we begin 
the story from the beginning and tell it in its logical 
order from start to finish, always bearing in mind 
that the editor may chop off a paragraph or two at 
the end. 

Hence the second paragraph of the story as it 
appeared in The Mail begins : 

45 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

John Smith, a man employed in the 
stock-room on the sixth floor, saw 
smoke rolling out of one corner and 
notified other employees in the build- 
ing, while Patrolman Hogan turned in 
an alarm. 

We are back at the beginning now and telling 
things as they came. The next paragraph of the 
story tells us how they fought the fire, and the third 
tells us how they finally brought it under control. 
The last paragraph of the story reads : 

There are three such warehouses in 
the country, one at St. Louis, another 
at San Francisco, but the one in this 
city is by far the largest. In it are 
kept supplies for the Departments of the 
East, Gulf, Cuba, Porto Rico, and the 
Philippines. 

The editor of The Mail had plenty of space that 
day and saw fit to run this last paragraph, but we 
should not have lost much had he chopped it off. 
Perhaps the reporter's copy contained still another 
paragraph telling about Captain Wolf, but that did 
not pass the editorial pencil. Even more of the 
story might have been slashed without depriving 
us of much of the interesting news. 

Judging from the above story a newspaper ac- 
count is divided into two separate and independent 
parts: the lead and the detailed account. The lead 

46 



THE SIMPLE FIRE STORY 

is written for the casual reader and contains all the 
necessary facts about the fire; it may stand alone 
and constitute a story in itself. The detailed account 
is written for the reader who wants to hear more 
about the incident, and is written in the logical order 
of events — with an eye to the danger of the editor's 
pencil threatening the last paragraphs. In other 
words, the reporter tells his story briefly in one para- 
graph and then goes back and tells it all over again 
in a more detailed way. If the story is of sufficient 
importance the second telling may not be sufficient 
and he may go back a third time to the beginning 
and tell it again with still greater detail — but that 
is another matter. For the present we shall consider 
only the lead and the first detailed account. 

There are certain other points to be noticed in 
the report of a featureless fire. Under no condition 
should it begin with the time. Why? Because, 
unless the time is of extreme interest, no one cares 
particularly when the fire occurred. And if the time 
is of great interest — as, for instance, if a church 
should burn while the congregation is in it — then the 
time becomes a feature to be played up and the story 
is no longer a featureless story. We are now con- 
sidering stories in which nothing is of greater inter- 
est than the mere fact that there was a fire. 

The same is true of the location. Who cares what 

47 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

street the fire was on until he knows more about the 
fire? If the location were of such significant im- 
portance as to be played up, the story would no 
longer be a featureless story. 

The paragraphing is also important. Since the 
lead is in itself a separate part of the story it should 
always be paragraphed separately. Do not let the 
beginning of the detailed account lap over into the 
lead, and do not introduce into the first paragraph 
any facts which are not absolutely a part of the lead 
— that is, facts that are absolutely essential to a gen- 
eral knowledge of the fire. When once you begin 
to tell the story in detail tell it logically and para- 
graph it logically. Do not tell us that John Smith 
discovered the fire and that the loss is $500 in the 
same paragraph. Take up each point separately and 
treat it fully before you leave it — then begin a new 
paragraph for the next item. 

To take a hypothetical case, suppose that misfor- 
tune visits the home of John H. Jones, who lives at 
79 Liberty Street. A defective flue sets his house 
on fire and it burns to the ground. By inquiry we 
find that the house is worth about $4,000 and is fully 
insured. 

There is nothing particularly striking about the 
story. We are sorry for Mr. Jones, but many 

48 



THE SIMPLE FIRE STORY 

houses worth $4,000 are set on fire by poor chim- 
neys and many more houses burn down. No one 
was hurt, no one was killed; the most striking part 
of it all is that there was a fire. We would begin 
with the word "Fire." Perhaps our readers would 
be most interested in the cause of the fire and we 
shall tell them that first. Then we shall tell them 
what burned ; when it burned, and where it stood. 
There is nothing else that a casual reader would 
want to know and the lead would read : 

Fire starting in a defective chimney 
destroyed the residence of John H. 
Jones, 79 Liberty street, at midnight last 
night, causing a loss of $4,000, covered 
by insurance 

Our casual reader is satisfied. For the reader 
who wishes to know more about the fire we add a 
paragraph or two of detail. First, we may tell him 
who discovered the fire ; then how the Jones family 
managed to escape ; and after that how the fire was 
extinguished, and we might slip in a paragraph ex- 
plaining just what trouble in the chimney made a 
fire possible. The editor may chop off any number 
of paragraphs or cut the story down to the lead, and 
yet our readers will get the facts and know just ex- 
actly what was the reason for the fire bell and the 
red sky at midnight last night. 

49 



VI 

THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 

A fire story without a feature begins with "Fire" 
because there is nothing in the story more interesting 
than the fact that there has been a fire. Such was 
the case in the burning of John Jones's house in the 
last chapter. But just as soon as any part of the 
story becomes more interesting than the fact that 
there was a fire, the story is no longer featureless — 
it is a fire story with a feature, or, for the purposes 
of our study, a feature fire story. This feature may 
be related to the story in one of two ways. In the 
first place, the answer to some one of the reader's 
questions may be the feature — e.g., the answer to 
when, where, what, how, why, who. On the other 
hand, the feature may be in some unexpected at- 
tendant circumstance that the reader would not think 
of ; for instance, loss of life, an interesting rescue, or 
something of that sort. Such a distinction is en- 
tirely arbitrary and would not be considered in a 
newspaper office, but it will make the matter simpler 
for the purposes of study. 

So 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 

A. FEATURES IN ANSWERS TO READER'S CUSTOMARY 
QUESTIONS 

(When, Where, What, How, Why, Who), 

Suppose that John Jones's house did not burn in 
the usual way — suppose that there is some striking 
incident in the story that makes it different from 
other fire stories. The story has a feature. Perhaps 
the answer to some one of the reader's customary 
questions is more interesting than the answers to 
the others — so much more interesting that it super- 
sedes even the fact that there was a fire. Then it 
would be foolish to begin with the mere word "fire" 
when we have something more interesting to tell. 
The fire takes a second place and we begin with the 
interesting fact that supersedes it. For the present 
we shall consider that this interesting fact is the 
answer to one of the questions that the reader al- 
ways asks; for instance, why the house burned or 
when it burned. 

1. Why. — Perhaps Mr. Jones's house was set on 
fire in a very unusual way. There was a little party 
in session at the Jones's and some one decided to 
take a flash-light picture. The flash-light set fire 
to a lace curtain and before any one could stop it 
the house was afire. Few fires begin in that way, 
5 S I 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

and our readers would be very interested in hearing 
about it. The story has a feature in the answer to 
the reader's Why? And so we would begin our 
lead in this way : 

A flashlight setting fire to a lace 
curtain started a fire which destroyed 
the residence of John H. Jones, 79 Lib- 
erty street, at 11 o'clock last night and 
caused a loss of $4,000. 

In this way the feature is played up at the begin- 
ning of the sentence, and yet the rest of the reader's 
questions are answered in the same sentence and he 
knows a great deal about the fire. Or, leaving Mr. 
Jones to his fate, we may give another example of 
an unusual cause taken from a newspaper. This 
was a big fire, and yet the unusual cause was of 
greater interest than the fire itself or the amount of 
property destroyed: 

A tiny "joss stick," the lighted end of 
which was no larger than a pinhead, 
is thought to have been responsible for 
a fire that destroyed the. White City 
Amusement Park at Broad Ripple last 
night. The loss to the amusement com- 
pany is $161,000. — Indianapolis News. 

2. Where. — To return to Mr. Jones, there .may 
have been some other incident in the burning of his 

52 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 

house aside from the cause that was of exceptional 
interest. Let us say that his house stood in a part 
of the town where a fire was to be feared. Perhaps 
it stood within twenty feet of the new First Congre- 
gational Church. The burning of Jones's house 
would then be insignificant in comparison to the 
danger to the costly edifice beside it, and our readers 
would be more interested in an item concerning their 
church. The answer to Where? is more interesting 
than the fire itself. Hence we would bury, so to 
speak, Mr. Jones's misfortune behind the greater 
danger, and the story would read : 



Fire endangered the new First Con- 
gregational Church on Liberty street, 
erected at a cost of $100,000, when the 
home of J. H. Jones, in the rear of the 
church, was destroyed at midnight last 
night. 



Or: 



The First Congregational Church, re- 
cently built at a cost of $100,000, was 
seriously threatened by a fire which de- 
stroyed the residence of John H. Jones, 
78 Liberty street, within twenty feet of 
the church, at midnight last night. 



Turning again to the daily papers, we can find 
many fire stories in which the location of the burned 

53 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

structure is important enough to take the first line 
of the lead. Here is one : 



The Plaza Hotel had a few uncom- 
fortable moments last night when flames 
from a building adjoining at 22 West 
Fifty-ninth street were shooting up as 
high as the tenth story of the hotel and 
the fire apparatus which responded to 
the delayed alarm was looking for the 
blaze several blocks away. — New York 
Sun. 



3. When — Sometimes the time of the fire is very 
interesting. John H. Jones's house may have caught 
fire from a very insignificant thing and its location 
may have been unimportant, but the fire may have 
come at an unusual time. Perhaps Mr. Jones's 
daughter was being married at a quiet home wed- 
ding in her father's house and in the midst of the 
ceremony the roof of the house burst into flames. 
The unusual time would be interesting; the answer 
to When? would be the feature. We might write 
the lead thus: 



During the wedding of Miss Mary 
Jones at the home of her father, John 
H. Jones, 78 Liberty street, last night, 
the house suddenly burst into flames 
and the bridal party was compelled to 
flee into the street. 

54 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 



Or: 



Fire interrupted the wedding of Miss 
Mary Jones at her father's home, 78 
Liberty street, last night, when the 
house caught fire from a defective chim- 
ney during the ceremony. 



The daily papers furnish many illustrations of 
fires at unusual times — here is one : 



When the snowstorm was at its height 
early this morning, a three-story brick 
building at Nos. 4410-18 Third Avenue, 
Brooklyn, caught fire, and the flames 
spread rapidly to an adjoining tenement, 
sending a small crowd of shivering ten- 
ants into the icy street. — New York 
Post. 



4. What (a) The Burned Building. — Many fire 

stories have their feature in the answer to the read- 
er's What? Not infrequently the building itself is 
of great importance. Naturally "The residence of 
John H. Jones" would not make a good beginning, 
if John Jones is not well known, because people 
would be more interested in reading about a mere 
fire than in reading about the residence of John H. 
Jones, whom they do not know. For it must be re- 
membered that it is the first line that catches the 
reader's eye and the interest or lack of interest in 
the first line determines whether or not the story is 

55 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

to be read. Now, suppose that a building that is 
very well known burns — the City Hall, the Albany 
State House, the Herald Square Theater — the mere 
mention of the building will attract the reader's at- 
tention. Therefore the reporter begins with the an- 
swer to What? the name of the building, as in the 
following cases : 

GLENS FALLS, N. Y., Aug. 17.— 
The Kaatskill House, for many years a 
popular Lake George resort, was com- 
pletely destroyed by fire this forenoon. 
— New York Times. 



The First M. E. Church of Chelsea, 
familiarly known as the Cary avenue 
church, was damaged last night to the 
amount of $7,000 by fire. — Boston Her- 
ald. 



(b) The Amount of Property Destroyed. — The 
answer to What burned? is not necessarily a build- 
ing, for the building itself may not be worth featur- 
ing. The contents of the building may be more in- 
teresting, especially if the amount of property de- 
stroyed can be put in striking terms, such as $2,- 
000,000 worth of property, or two thousand chick- 
ens, or fifty-three automobiles, or 7,000 gallons of 
whisky. These figures printed at the beginning of 
the first paragraph catch the reader's eye, thus : 

56 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 

Five automobiles, valued at $5,800, 
and property amounting to $6,200 were 
destroyed last evening when fire broke 
in the repair shop of the G. W. Browne 
Motor company, 228-232 Wisconsin 
street, near the North-Western station. 
— Milwaukee Sentinel. 



5. How. — Very rarely the manner in which a fire 
burns is quite unique and deserves featuring. It is 
inconceivable that John Jones's house could burn in 
any very unusual way — "with many explosions/' 
"with a glare of flames that aroused the whole city," 
"with vast clouds of oily smoke" — but some fires do 
burn in some such a way and are interesting only for 
the way they burned. The following story begins 
with the answer to How? although the manner 
might be described more explicitly : 

Stubborn fires have been fought in the 
past, but one of the hardest blazes to 
conquer that the local department ever 
contended with gutted the plant of N. 
Drucker & Co., manufacturers of trunks 
and valises, at the northwest corner of 
Ninth and Broadway, last night. — Cin- 
cinnati Commercial Tribune. 

6. Who. — Just as it would be foolish to begin with 
"the residence of John Jones," since the building is 
not well known, it would not be advisable to begin 
with John Jones's name, no matter what part he 

57 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

played. John Jones is not well known and so to 
the newspaper he is just a man and is treated im- 
personally regardless of what he does or what hap- 
pens to him. Our interest in him is entirely imper- 
sonal, and all we want to know about him is what 
he has done or what has happened to him. There- 
fore few reporters would begin a story with John 
Jones's name. However, let some man who is well 
known do or suffer the slightest thing and his name 
immediately lends interest to the story — and there- 
fore commands first place in the introduction. If 
John D. Rockefeller should even witness a fire, or if 
President Taft should be in the slightest way con- 
nected with a fire, the mere fire story would shrink 
into significance behind the name. And so, very 
often it is advisable to begin a fire story with a name, 
if the name is of sufficient prominence. It is not 
necessary that the well-known man's property be de- 
stroyed or even endangered for his name to have the 
first place in the first sentence of the lead; if the 
well-known man has anything whatever to do with 
the fire his name should be featured because to the 
average reader the interest in his name overshadows 
any interest in the fire. In this example, the name 
overshadows a striking loss of property and the story 
begins with the answer to Who? 



58 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 



NEW YORK, Nov. 6.— While Clen- 
denin J. Ryan, son of Thomas F. Ryan, 
the traction magnate, and a band of vol- 
unteer fire fighters — many of them mil- 
lionaires — fought a blaze which started 
in the garage of young Ryan's country 
estate near Suffern, N. Y., early in the 
morning, three valuable automobiles, 
seven thoroughbred horses and several 
outbuildings were totally destroyed. — 
Milwaukee Sentinel 



It will be seen that in each of the above feature 
fire stories some incident in the fire, or connected 
with the fire, overshadows the mere fact that there 
was a fire and makes it advisable to begin the story 
of the fire with the fact or incident of unusual in- 
terest. Furthermore, in each of these stories the un- 
usual feature in the story is a direct answer to one 
of the reader's questions — when? where? how? 
what? why? who? In other words, the reporter in 
answering these questions, as he must in the lead of 
every story, finds the answer to one question so 
much more interesting than the answer to any of the 
other questions that he puts it first. In every fire 
story, however, the feature is not so easily discov- 
ered. 



59 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

B. FEATURES IN UNEXPECTED ATTENDANT CIRCUM- 
STANCES 

There are other things in the day's fire stories, 
besides the answers to the reader's questions, that 
may overshadow the rest of the story and deserve to 
be featured. Very often there are unexpected at- 
tendant circumstances occurring simultaneously with 
the fire or resulting from the fire to command our 
interest. Perhaps a number of people are killed or 
injured; then we want to know about them first, and 
the reporter neglects to answer our questions for the 
moment while he tells us the startling attendant cir- 
cumstances that we had not expected. Even so, 
while giving first place to the feature, he does not 
forget our questions but answers them in the same 
sentence. Hence the introduction of a fire story 
with significant attendant circumstances begins with 
the startling fact resulting from the fire and then 
goes on to answer the reader's questions — in the 
same sentence. 

This is not so difficult as it may sound. Suppose 
that when John Jones's house burns there is a stifif 
breeze blowing and the chances are that all the other 
houses in the block will go with it. All of his neigh- 
bors become frightened and work with feverish 
haste to move their household goods out into the 

60 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 



street. In the end the fire department succeeds in 
confining the fire to Mr. Jones's house and his 
neighbors promptly carry their chattels back indoors 
thanking the god of good luck. Now the mere fact 
that John Jones's house burned down is rather in- 
significant beside the fact that a dozen families were 
driven from their homes by the fire. Therefore the 
reporter would begin thus : 



Twelve families were driven from 
their homes by a fire which destroyed 
the residence of John H. Jones, 78 Lib- 
erty street, at 11 o'clock last night. The 
fire was at length kept from spreading 
and the neighboring residences were 
reoccupied. 



Or to take an incident from the daily press in 
which the neighbors were not so fortunate ; although 
they might have entirely lost their homes : 

Twenty-two families in the six-story 
tenement at 147 Orchard street were 
routed out of the house twice early to- 
day by fires which caused a great deal 
of smoke, but little real damage. — New 
York Mail 



1. Death — (a) Number of Dead. — The most 
usual attendant circumstances that will come to our 
notice is death in the fire. Let us say that Mr. 
Jones's three children were alone in the house and 

61 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



burned to death. Their death would be of more in- 
terest to us than the burning of their father's house 
— and our story would necessarily begin in this way : 

Three children were burned to death 
in a fire which destroyed the home of 
their father, John H. Jones, 78 Liberty- 
street, last night. 

So common is death in connection with fire that 
almost every day's paper contains one or more stories 

beginning "Ten persons were cremated " or 

"Four firemen were killed " And in every case 

the loss of human life is considered of greater im- 
portance than any other incident in the story, and 
the number of dead always takes precedence over 
many another startling feature. Here are a few 
examples : 



JOHNSTOWN, Pa., Jan. 18.— Seven 
men were cremated in a fire that burned 
to the ground three double houses near 
Berlin, Somerset County, early this 
morning. — New York Sun. 

Three children of Mr. and Mrs. Ber- 
nard Lindberg, 3328 Nineteenth avenue 
south, were cremated in a fire which 
destroyed their home shortly after 12 
o'clock yesterday. The children had 
been left alone in the house, shut up in 
their bedroom, etc. — St. Paul Pioneer 
Press. 

62 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 



One fireman was killed, another fire- 
man and a woman were injured and 
eight people escaped death by a nar- 
row margin Saturday night in a fire 
which destroyed the, etc. — Milwaukee 
Sentinel. 



NEW YORK, March 27.— One hun- 
dred and forty-one persons are dead as 
a result of the fire which on Saturday 
afternoon swept the three upper floors 
of the factory loft building at the north- 
west corner of Washington place and 
Greene street. More than three-quarters 
of this number are women and girls, 
who were employed in the Triangle 
Shirt Waist factory, where the fire orig- 
inated. — Boston Transcript 



(b) List of Dead. — When the number of dead or 
injured reaches any very significant figure it is cus- 
tomary to make a table of dead and injured. This 
table is usually set into the story close after the lead, 
but very often the list is put in a "box" and slipped 
in above the story. In writing the story, however, 
the reporter disregards the table and begins his lead 
as if there were no table : e.g., "Twelve firemen were 

killed and fourteen injured in a fire " The list 

usually gives the name, address (or some other iden- 
tification), and the nature of the injury, thus: 



63 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



Injured Firemen: 

Capt. Frank Makal, Engine Co. No. 
4, cut by glass. 

Acting Captain W. E. Brown, fire 
boat No. 23, cut by glass. 

Peter Ryan, No. 15, flying glass. — 
Milwaukee Free Press, 



Or: 



The Dead: 

Mrs. Charles Smith, 14 W. Gorham 
street. 

John Johnson, 11 93 Chatham street. 
The Injured: 

Thomas Green, 11 11 Grand street; 
face cut by flying glass. 

James Brown, 176 Orchard avenue ; 
internal injuries; may die. 



(c) Manner of Death. — A number of fatalities at 
the beginning always attracts attention. Not infre- 
quently the manner or the cause, especially in the 
case of a single death, is worth the first place in the 

lead — not as "One man killed " but as "Crushed 

beneath a falling wall, a man was killed." If a man 
burns to death in a very unusual way, or for an un- 
usual reason, we are more interested in the way he 
was burned, or the reason that he burned, than in 
the mere fact that he was burned to death. The 
first line then tells us how or why he was burned. 
Thus: 

64 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 

To save his money, which he hoped 
would some day raise him from the 
rank of a laborer to that of a prosper- 
ous merchant, Hing Lee, a Chinese 
laundryman, ran back into his burning 
laundry at 3031 Nicollet avenue today, 
after he was once safe from the flames, 
and was so badly burned that phy- 
sicians say he cannot live. — Minneapo- 
lis Journal. 



2. Injuries. — Very often no one is killed in a fire 
but some one is injured. For example, five firemen 
are overcome by ammonia fumes or two men are 
seriously injured by a falling wall. This then be- 
comes the feature. Injuries to human beings, if 
serious or in any considerable number, take prece- 
dence over other features, just as loss of human life 
does. Here is an example from the press in which 
all the injuries are gathered together at the begin- 
ning: 

Six firemen and two laborers were 
overcome by smoke, while three other 
firemen received minor injuries by fly- 
ing glass in a fire which broke out yes- 
terday morning at 10:30 o'clock in the 
Wellauer-Hoffman building, at, etc. — 
Milwaukee Free Press. 

3. Rescues. — (a) Number of People Rescued. — 
When people are rescued from great danger in a 

65 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



fire their escape makes a very good feature. If many 
of them are rescued or escape very narrowly, the 
mere number of people saved deserves the first place, 



as: 



More than 150 men and women were 
saved from death today in a fire at 213- 
217 Grand street by toboganning from 
the roof of the burning structure on a 
board chute to the roof of an adjoining 
five-story building. — New York Mail. 



(b) Manner of Rescue. — But more often the 
manner of their escape interests us most. If a man 
slides down a rope for four stories to escape death 
by fire we are more interested in how he saved him- 
self than in the fact that he didn't burn, and so we 
tell how he escaped, in the first line. In the same 
way, if unusual means are used to save one or more 
persons, the means of rescue is usually worth featur- 
ing. For example : 



Overcoats used as life nets saved the 
lives of a dozen women and children 
in a fire of incendiary origin in the 
three-story frame tenement house at 137 
Havemeyer avenue, Brooklyn, to-day, 
etc. — New York Mail 



4. Property Threatened — Death and injury are the 
commonest unexpected circumstances in fire stories, 
but they are not the only ones that may be worth 

66 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 

featuring. There is an inconceivable number of 
things that may happen at a fire and overshadow 
all interest in the fire itself. A good feature may 
be found in the property that is threatened. Often 
the fire in itself is insignificant, but because of a 
high wind or other circumstances it threatens to 
spread to neighboring buildings or to devastate a 
large area. In such a case the amount of property 
threatened or endangered deserves a place in the 
very first line, especially if it exceeds the amount of 
property actually destroyed and if it can be put in a 
striking way ; i. e. y the entire waterfront district, or 
twenty-five dwelling houses, or $5,000,000 worth of 
property. When contrasted with the small amount 
of damage actually done, the amount that is threat- 
ened becomes more important. Thus : 

Fire that for a time threatened $2,000,- 
000 worth of property destroyed $15,- 
000 worth of lumber owned by the 
Milwaukee Lumber Company, 725 Clin- 
ton street, yesterday. . . . 

The territory between Mitchell street 
and the Kinnickinnic river and Reed 
street, to the lake, containing manufac- 
tories, dwellings and stores, was men- 
aced. — Milwaukee News. 

5. Fire Fighting. — Not unusually a serious fire re- 
sults from the fact that it was not checked for some 
6 67 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

reason or other during its earlier stages. Perhaps 
the whole thing might have been avoided, or, on the 
contrary, a big fire may be extinguished with unex- 
pected ease or unusual skill. In rare cases this mat- 
ter of very efficient or very inefficient fire fighting is 
of sufficient importance to take the first place in the 
lead. For example : 

Almost total lack of water pressure 
is blamed for the big loss in a fire 
started by a firebug to-day in the five- 
story factory building of Lamchick 
Brothers, manufacturing company, 400- 
402 South Second street, Williamsburg. 
— New York Mail. 

Rotten hose, which burst as fast as it 
was put in use, imperiled the lives of 
more than a score of firemen to-day at 
a blaze which swept the three-story 
frame flat house at Third avenue and 
Sixty-seventh street, Brooklyn, from 
cellar to roof, etc. — New York Mail. 

8. Crowd. — Not uncommonly in the city a tremen- 
dous crowd gathers to watch a fire and blocks traffic 
for hours. In the absence of other significant inci- 
dents — death, great loss, etc. — the reporter may be- 
gin his story with an account of the crowd present 
or the blockade of traffic. Such a beginning should 
always be used only as a last resort when a fire has 
no other interesting phase, for crowds always gather 

68 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 

at fires and only a very serious blocking of traffic 
is worth reporting. Thus : 

Fully 15,000 persons were attracted 
to the scene of the fire in the portion 
of the plant of the Greenwald Packing 
Company, Claremont Stock Yards, 
which was discovered at 4:56 yesterday 
afternoon. — Baltimore American. 

Twenty-five thousand people jammed 
Broadway between Bleecker and Bond 
streets yesterday noon and had the ex- 
citement of watching 250 girls escape 
from a twelve-story loft building which 
was afire. — New York Sun. 

7. Miscellaneous. — There is an infinite number of 
things that may happen at a fire and overshadow the 
mere fire interest. These are the things that make 
one fire different from another, and whenever they 
are of sufficient importance they become the feature 
to be played up in the first line of the introduction. 
It would be impossible to enumerate all the unex- 
pected things that might happen during a fire. It is 
this element of unexpected possibilities that makes 
the reporting of fires interesting, and an alert re- 
porter is ever on the lookout for a new and unusual 
development in the fire to be used as the feature of 
his story. Here are the leads of a few fire stories 
clipped from the daily newspapers : 

69 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

With her home on fire and the smoke 
swirling around her head, Mrs. B. B. 
Blank, a well-known leader of the so- 
cial set of Roland Park, bravely stood 
by her telephone and called upon the 
Roland Park Fire Company for aid 
shortly after 8 o'clock this morning. — 
Baltimore Star. 

Four charming young women attired 
in masculine apparel were the unexpect- 
ed and embarrassed hosts of four com- 
panies of fire department "laddies" last 
night, when fire broke out, etc. — Mil- 
waukee Free Press. 

For the first time since its installation 
the high-pressure water power system 
was relied upon solely last night to 
fight a Broadway fire, and Chief Croker 
said that he was well satisfied with its 
work. The fire began on the third floor 
of the six-story, etc. — New York Times. 



C. FIRE STORIES WITH MORE THAN ONE FEATURE 

It would appear from the foregoing examples that 
almost every fire story has a feature. And so it usu- 
ally has. The great majority of fires that are worth 
reporting at all have some unusual incident con- 
nected with them that overshadows the mere fire 
itself. Sometimes the features are not of great 
significance, but it is only as a last resort that a re- 

70 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 

porter begins his story with "Fire" — only when the 
most ordinary of fires is to be covered. 

Unusual features are so common in connection 
with fires that very often a single fire has more than 
one unusual feature. Perhaps the cause of the fire 
is exceptionally striking and at the same time the 
amount of property destroyed is of great news value 
in itself. Or the time and some unexpected attend- 
ant circumstance are both worth the first place. In 
that case the reporter has to choose between the two 
features and begin with the one that seems to him 
to be the more striking. The other feature or feat- 
ures may often be arranged in the order of impor- 
tance immediately after the most striking fact at 
the beginning, provided that this does not make the 
lead unduly complicated. 

For instance, a cold storage warehouse burns and 
four firemen are overcome by the fumes from the 
ammonia pipes. Next door is a hospital and the 
flames frighten the patients almost into a panic. 
Either one of these incidents is worth the first line 
of the story. But which one is of the greater im- 
portance? Naturally the element of danger to hu- 
man life must be considered first and the actual dis- 
abling of four firemen is of greater significance than 
a possible panic in the hospital. Following that line 
of logic our story would begin : 

71 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Four firemen were overcome by am- 
monia fumes and a panic in the St. 
Charles Hospital was narrowly averted, 
as a result of a fire which destroyed 
the cold storage warehouse of, etc. 



Such a lead would not be too complicated for 
practical purposes. But suppose that around the 
corner from the cold storage warehouse is a livery 
in which fifty horses are stabled. The flames 
frighten the horses and they break loose and stam- 
pede in the streets. The story now has three fea- 
tures of striking interest. It would be possible to 
combine them all in the lead and to begin in this 
way: 

Four firemen were overcome by am- 
monia fumes, a panic was narrowly 
averted in the St. Charles Hospital, and 
fifty frightened horses stampeded in the 
streets as a result of a fire, etc. 

But see how far from the beginning the fire, the 
actual cause of it all, is placed. The fire is buried 
behind a mass of details and the reader is confused. 
The lead is not a happy one. The only thing to do 
is to break up the mass of details and put part of 
them immediately after the lead. The arrangement 
is a matter that must be left to the judgment of the 
reporter. 

72 



THE FEATURE FIRE STORY 

This, however, is an extreme case because the vari- 
ous features are so disconnected and separate. The 
reporter would have little trouble if the several feat- 
ures were more alike. For instance, if one of the 
walls of the building had fallen and killed three fire- 
men the case would have been simpler. The death 
of these men so far overshadows the other unusual 
incidents that it drives them out of the lead alto- 
gether. For we do not care about horses and fright- 
ened patients when men are crushed beneath falling 
walls. All that we are concerned with in our lead 
now is the dead and injured — with a feature like 
this we can trust our readers to go into the story far 
enough to pick up the other interesting features ; we 
would begin in this way : 

Three firemen were killed by falling 
walls and four others were overcome by- 
ammonia fumes in a fire which de- 
stroyed the cold storage, etc. 

The combination of dead and injured makes a 
good beginning, and it is always advisable to begin 
with such an enumeration whenever it is possible. 
Where the features are not so significant as death 
and injuries the matter of arranging more than one 
striking detail at the beginning of the lead becomes 
a greater problem. It must be left to one's own 
judgment and common sense. The lead must not be 

73 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

too long or complicated, and one must hesitate be- 
fore burying the really important facts of the story 
behind several lines of more or less unusual details. 
Just as soon as the lead becomes at all confusing take 
out the details and put them into the story later. 



VII 

FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

Before we go on to the consideration of other 
kinds of news stories it will be well to consider in 
greater detail the facts we have learned from writing 
up fires. Our fire stories should have taught us a 
number of things about the form of the news story. 
Let us sum them up. 

Paragraph length. — We have seen that newspa- 
per writing has a characteristic style of its own. In 
the first place notice the length of a newspaper para- 
graph. Count the number of words in an average 
paragraph and compare it with the number of words 
in a literary paragraph. We find that the newspaper 
paragraph is much shorter. There is a reason for 
this. Imagine a 150-word literary paragraph set up 
in a newspaper. There are about seven words to 
the line in a newspaper column and one hundred and 
fifty words would make something over twenty lines. 
Try to picture a newspaper made up of twenty-line 
paragraphs; it would be extremely difficult to read. 

75 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

We glance over a newspaper hastily and our haste 
requires many breaks to help us in gathering the 
facts. Hence the paragraphs must be short ; the very 
narrowness of the newspaper column causes them to 
be shortened. The average lead, you will find, con- 
tains less than fifty words and the paragraphs fol- 
lowing it are not much longer. 

Sentence length — Notice sentence lengths as com- 
pared with literary sentences. You will find that 
newspaper sentences usually fall into two classes : the 
sentences in the lead and the sentences in the body 
of the story. The first sentence is usually rather 
long — thirty to sixty words. But the sentences in 
the body of the story are much shorter than most 
literary sentences. Why is this? It results from 
exactly the same thing that makes the newspaper 
paragraphs short — the need of many breaks. Thus, 
after we finish a lead, we must fall into short sen- 
tences. They need not be choppy sentences, but they 
must be simple and easy to read. 

THE LEAD AND THE BODY OF THE STORY 

Our study of the fire story has shown that news- 
paper stories always have two separate and distinct 
parts : the lead and the body of the story. In writ- 
ing the story a reporter must consider each part 

76 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

separately, although the reader does not distinguish 
between the two parts. Before writing a word the 
reporter must decide exactly what facts and details 
he is to put in the lead and exactly what fact he is 
going to play up in the first line, taking care to be- 
gin with the most interesting part of the story. 
After the lead is finished he writes the main body of 
the story in accordance with the rules of ordinary 
English composition. Each part must be separate 
and independent of the other. 

The Lead. — The lead itself is always paragraphed 
separately. Usually it consists of a single sentence, 
although it is much better to break it into two than 
to make the sentence too long and complicated. As 
we have said before, the lead must not only tell the 
most interesting fact or incident in the story, but it 
must answer the natural questions that the reader 
immediately asks about this matter; i.e., when, 
where, what, why, who, and how. These questions 
must be answered briefly and concisely in their order 
of importance, and the most unusual answer or the 
most striking part of the story must precede all the 
rest. Beyond the answers to these questions there 
is no space for details in the lead. Every word must 
have a purpose and a necessary purpose or it must 
be cut out and relegated to the body of the story. 
No space should be given to explanations of minor 

77 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

importance. State the content of the news story as 
completely, accurately, and concisely as possible so 
that the reader may know just what happened, when 
it happened, where, to whom, and perhaps how and 
why it happened. Then begin a new paragraph and 
start the body of the story. 

Many editors require that the lead consist of one 
long sentence and yet it must be grammatical. 
Many reporters forget all about English grammar 
in their attempt to crowd everything they know into 
one sentence. But mere quantity does not make the 
lead good ; it must be grammatical and easy to read. 
The verb must have a grammatical subject and, if it 
is an active verb, it must have a grammatical predi- 
cate. Clauses and modifiers must be attached in a 
way that cannot be overlooked. Dangling partici- 
ples and absolute constructions should be shunned. 
All of the modifying clauses must be gathered to- 
gether either before or after the principal clause. 
Everything must be compact and logical. Many pa- 
pers disregard this matter, as will be seen in some 
of the extracts quoted in this book, but the best 
papers do not. 

Every lead should be so constructed that it may 
stand alone and be self-sufficient. Never should a 
reporter trust to headlines to enlighten his readers 
upon the meaning of the lead — the exact reverse of 

78 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

this must be true. The story is written first and the 
headlines are written from the facts contained in 
the lead — and usually by another man. In writing 
the lead disregard the existence of headlines, for 
many readers do not read them at all. This is but 
an amplification of the old rule of composition that 
any piece of writing should be independent of its 
title. The title may be lost, but the essay must be 
clear without it. 

There are many ways of beginning a lead in order 
to embody the feature in the first line. At first 
glance the operation of putting the emphasis of a 
sentence at the beginning, rather than at the end, 
may seem difficult, but with a clear idea of the rules 
of dependence in English grammar a reporter may 
transpose any clause to the beginning and thus play 
up the content of the clause. For instance, in this 
lead, 

Fire, starting in a moving picture the- 
atre, 4418 Third avenue, drove the ten- 
ants of the building out into the icy- 
street while the snowstorm was at its 
height shortly before 12 o'clock last 
night. 

the striking feature of the story is buried — we do 
not get the unusual picture of a little group of peo- 
ple shivering in the street during a blinding snow- 

79 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

storm while they watch their homes burn. A simple 
transposition of the while-clause puts the feature in 
the first line. Thus: 



While the snowstorm was at its 
height shortly before 12 o'clock last 
night, fire, starting in a moving picture 
theatre, 4418 Third avenue, drove the 
tenants of the building out into the 
icy street. 



The lead is not perfect now ; it might be greatly im- 
proved, but it is better than before. 

A few of the possible beginnings for a lead are : 
1. Noun. — The simplest beginning of a lead is of 
course the use of a noun as subject of the principal 
verb. For example, "Fire destroyed the residence 
of " or "A flashlight setting fire to a lace cur- 
tain started a fire " or "The Plaza Hotel had a 

few uncomfortable moments last night " etc. 

The subject of the verb may of course have its modi- 
fiers — adjectives and phrases — but it should not be 
separated too widely from its verb. One point is to 
be noted in the use of a simple noun at the begin- 
ning; an article should not precede the noun if it can 
be avoided, for the very simple reason that an article 
is not worth the important space that it takes at the 
beginning of the lead. In the case of fire no article 
is necessary, In other cases it is usually possible to 

80 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

put in an adjective or some other word that will take 
the article's place. However, never begin a story 
like this : "Supreme Court of the United States de- 
cided " or "Young man in evening dress was 

arrested last night " or "House of John Smith 

was destroyed yesterday " Obviously some- 
thing is lacking and, if no other word will supply the 
lack, use the article, the or a. When the noun-bz- 
ginning is used the reporter must never forget that 
two or more nouns, however different, if subject of 
the same verb, require a plural verb. The verb may 
be active or passive, whichever is more convenient, 
but rarely is the object of an active verb put first — 
simply because English cannot bear this transposi- 
tion of subject and predicate. 

2. Infinitive. — Other parts of speech aside from 
nouns may be subjects of verbs and so other parts 
of speech as subjects of the principal verb of the 
lead may be placed at the beginning of the lead. An 
infinitive with its object and modifier may occupy 
the first line as subject of the main verb; e.g. : 

To rescue his own son during the 
burning of his own house was a part 
of yesterday's work for Fireman Mich- 
ael Casey, who, etc. 

Here the infinitive "to rescue" and its object are the 
subject of the verb "was," and the construction is 

81 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

perfectly grammatical. Unfortunately the English 
language has another infinitive which very much re- 
sembles a present participle — the infinitive ending 
in -ing; e.g., rescuing. Without an article this part 
of speech must, of course, be used only as an ad- 
jective, but with an article it becomes an infinitive, 
to be treated as a noun; e.g., the rescuing of. It 
would be perfectly grammatical to begin the above 
lead in this way : "The rescuing of his own son . . . 
was the work, etc." But it would be ungrammatical 
to begin it thus : "Rescuing his own son was the 
work, etc." For in the second case the word "rescu- 
ing," if used with an object, is not an infinitive but a 
participle, and must be used only as an adjective, 
thus : "Rescuing his own son, Fireman Casey per- 
formed his duty, etc.," or "In rescuing his own son, 
Fireman Casey performed his duty." The two uses 
should never be confused. 

3. Clause. — Another expression that may be used 
as subject of the lead's principal verb is a clause — 
usually a that-clause. For instance, "That the en- 
tire wholesale district was not destroyed by fire last 
night is due to, etc." Here the ^a/-clause is subject 
of the verb is and the expression is entirely gram- 
matical as well as very useful as a beginning. 

4. Prepositional Phrase. — When the feature of a 
story is an action rather than a thing, a noun can 

82 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

hardly be used to express it. Very often this lead 
may be handled by means of a prepositional phrase 
at the beginning. For example, one of the stories 
in the last chapter begins : "With her home on fire 
and with smoke swirling around her head, Mrs. 
John, etc." In this case the prepositional phrase 
modifies the subject and should not be far from it. 
Another variation of this is the prepositional phrase 
of time, modifying the verb ; e.g., "During the wed- 
ding of Miss Mary Jones, last night, the house sud- 
denly caught fire, etc." This beginning is effective 
if it is not overworked, but the reader should never 
be held back from the real facts of the story by a 
string of complicated phrases, intended to build up 
suspense. 

5. Participial Phrase. — Very much like the prep- 
ositional phrase beginning is the participial begin- 
ning. "Sliding down an eighty- foot extension lad- 
der with a woman in his arms, Fireman John Casey 
rescued, etc." It must be borne in mind that the 
participial phrase must modify a noun and there 
should be no doubt in the reader's mind as to the 
noun that it modifies. It would of course be absurd 
to say "Sliding down an eighty-foot extension lad- 
der, fire seriously burned John Casey ," but 

such things are often said. Never should this par- 
ticipial phrase be used as the subject of a verb, as 
7 83 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

"Returning home and finding her house in ashes was 
the unusual experience of Mrs. James, etc/' The 
phrase must always modify a noun just like an ad- 
jective. 

6. Temporal Clause. — A feature may often be 
brought to the beginning of the lead by a simple 
transposition of clauses. Should the time be im- 
portant a subordinate when or while clause may pre- 
cede the principal clause of the sentence; i.e., "When 
the snowstorm was at its height early this morning, 
a three-story brick building burned, etc./' or "While 
15,000 people watched from the street below, 250 
girls escaped from the burning building at, etc." 

7. Causal Clause. — Should the cause of an action 
or an occurrence be attractive enough for the first 
line, a for or a because clause may begin the lead. 
"Because a tinsmith upset a pot of molten solder on 
the roof of pier No. 19, two steamers were burned, 
etc." 

This does not exhaust the list of possible begin- 
nings. There are a dozen possible constructions for 
the beginning of any story; these are merely the 
commonest ones. Anything unusual or of doubtful 
grammar should be avoided because of the many 
possible alternatives that present themselves. And 
in every lead correct grammar should be considered 

84 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

above all else. If a lead is ungrammatical no clever 
arrangement of details can make it effective or other 
than ludicrous. For instance, this lead, taken from 
a newspaper, illustrates an unfortunate attempt to 
crowd too many details into a short lead : 

Bitten by a rattlesnake, Myrtle Ol- 
son's leg was slashed with a table knife, 
washed the wound with kerosene, then 
covered the incision with salt by her 
mother. Myrtle still lives. 

Another paper tried to arrange it more happily, 
thus: 

Bitten by a rattlesnake, Myrtle Ol- 
son's mother slashed her daughter's leg 
with a table knife, washed the wound 
with kerosene, then covered the incision 
with salt. Myrtle still lives. 

There is evidently something wrong in this. It 
would be a good exercise to try to express the idea 
grammatically. 

Before we go on to the consideration of the body 
of this story a few Donfts in regard to writing leads 
may be in order. 

Don't begin a lead with a person's name unless 
the person is well known. We are always interested 
in anything unusual that a man may do or anything 

85 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

unusual that he may suffer, but unless we know the 
man we are not at all interested in his name. Sup- 
pose that a man performs some thrilling act or suf- 
fers some unusual misfortune in a city of 100,000 
people. Probably not more than one hundred people 
know him, and of that number only one or two will 
read the story. Then why begin with his name when 
his action is of greater interest to all but a few of 
our readers ? And yet every reader wants to know 
whether the victim is one of his friends. Therefore 
the man's name must be mentioned in the lead, al- 
though it should not come at the beginning. On the 
other hand, if the man is prominent in the nation or 
the community and well known to all our readers, his 
name adds interest to the story and we begin with 
the name. There is a growing tendency among 
American newspapers to begin all of their stories 
with a name. The tendency appears to be the result 
of an attempt to break away from the conventional 
lead and to begin in a more natural way — also an 
easier way. But the name beginning is after all 
illogical, and any reporter is safe in following the 
logical course in the matter. If the name is not 
important begin with something that is important. 

Don't waste the main verb of the sentence on a 
minor action while expressing the principal action in 
a subordinate clause. This is a violation of empha- 

86 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

sis. For example, "Fatally burned by an explosion 
in his laundry, Hing Lee was taken to the hospital." 
Naturally he would be taken to the hospital, but why 
put the emphasis of the whole sentence on that 
point ? 

Don't resort to the expression "was the unusual 

experience of " "was the fate of " or any 

like them. Every word in the lead must count, and 
here are five words that say nothing at all. Use their 
place to tell what the unusual experience was. For 
instance, don't say "To stand in a driving snowstorm 
and watch their homes burn to the ground was the 
unusual experience of two families, living at, etc."; 
say instead, "Standing in a driving snowstorm two 
families watched their homes burn to the ground." 
The latter says the same thing more effectively in 
less space. The use of this expression — "was the 
unusual experience of" — is always the mark of a 
green reporter. 

Don't overwork the expression "Fire broke out." 
All fires "break out," but usually we, are more in- 
terested in the result of the fire than in its "breaking 
out." Try to use some expression that will give 
more definite information. 

Don't be wordy. Editors are always calling for 
shorter and more concise leads. If you can say a 
thing in two words don't use half a dozen. For ex- 

87 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

ample, 'Tour members of the local fire department 
were rendered unconscious by the deadly fumes from 
bursting ammonia pipes." This takes three times as 
much space as 'Tour firemen were overcome by am- 
monia fumes," and it does not express the idea any 
more effectively. 

Don't introduce minor details into the lead. If 
the reader wants the details he may read the rest of 
the story. Take the following lead as an example : 

Rushing back into his burning laun- 
dry, a one-story brick building, to res- 
cue from the flames his savings, 
amounting to $437, with which he hoped 
to raise himself from the rank of la- 
borer to that of a prosperous merchant, 
and which was hidden under the mat- 
tress of his bed in the back room of the 
laundry, Hing Lee, a Chinaman, who 
lives at 79 Nicollett avenue and has 
been in this country but three months, 
was overcome by smoke and so seri- 
ously burned that he had to be removed 
to the St. Mary Hospital and may not 
live, when his establishment was de- 
stroyed by a fire which, starting from 
the explosion of the tank of the gasolene 
stove on which he was cooking his din- 
ner, gutted his laundry, entailing a loss 
of $1,000, shortly before noon to-day. 

It is entirely grammatical, but if the reader succeeds 
in wading through it there is nothing left to tell 

88 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

about the fire. Why not begin the story in this way 
and leave something for the rest of the story? 



Because he rushed back into his burn- 
ing laundry to rescue his savings, Hing 
Lee, a Chinese laundryman, 79 Nicollett 
avenue, was seriously burned to-day. 



Don't waste the first line of the lead on meaning- 
less generalities. Get down to the facts at once. 
For instance, "The presence of mind and bravery of 
Fireman David Mullen saved Mrs. Daniel Looker 
from being burned to death in her flat, etc." We are 
willing to grant his bravery and presence of mind, 
but we want to know at once what he did : "By 
sliding down an eighty- foot extension ladder through 
flames and smoke with an unconscious woman in his 
arms, Fireman David Mullen rescued Mrs. Daniel, 
etc." Equally useless is the beginning, "A daring 
rescue of an unconscious woman from the fourth 
story of a blazing flat building was made by Fire- 
man David Mullen to-day, etc." Tell what the dar- 
ing rescue was and let the reader manufacture a fit- 
ting eulogy. 

Don't exaggerate the facts to make a feature. 
When a few persons are frightened don't turn it into 
a dreadful panic. Every little fire is not a holocaust 
and the burning of a small barn does not endanger 

89 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

the entire city, unless your imagination is strong 
enough to guess what might have happened had 
there been a high wind and no fire engines. A nar- 
row escape from death does not always excuse the 
beginning, " Scores killed and injured would have 

been the result, if " All beginnings of this kind 

give a false impression and do not tell the truth. If 
a story has no striking feature be satisfied to tell the 
truth about it without trying to make a world-wide 
disaster out of it for the sake of a place on the front 
page. Exaggeration for a feature is one of the bad 
elements of sensational journalism. For example, 
seven lives were lost in this fire, but this is the 
way the story was written, for the sake of a three- 
column scare-head : 

That 500 sleeping babes and 100 more 
who were kneeling in prayer in St. 
Malachi's Home, a Roman Catholic in- 
stitution for the care of orphans at 
Rockaway Park, are alive to-day is due 
to the coolness of the nuns in charge 
and the children's remembrance of their 
teacher's fire drills. 

The suspense is built up in such a way that at the 
end of the lead we do not know what happened and 
read on with breathless interest to find that there 
was a small fire at the Home and seven children 
were burned. 

90 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

The Body of the Story. — "A good beginning is 
half done," according to the proverb. In writing a 
news story a good beginning is more than half done 
— two-thirds at least. The lead is the beginning, 
and when that has been written we are ready to go 
on to the body of the story with a clear conscience. 

Our lead has told the reader the main facts of the 
case and the most unusual feature. If he reads 
further he is looking for details. In giving him these 
we return to the ordinary rules of narration. We 
start at the very beginning of the story and tell it 
logically and in detail to the end. We tell it as 
if no lead preceded it and repeat in greater detail the 
incidents briefly outlined in the lead. Never should 
the body of the story depend upon the lead for clear- 
ness. If the feature of the story is a rescue and you 
have briefly described the rescue in the lead, ignore 
the lead and describe the rescue all over again in 
the body of the story in its proper place. The num- 
ber of details that are to be introduced into the story 
is limited only by the space that the story seems 
to be worth. But no point should be mentioned 

in the story unless space permits of its being made 
clear. 

The ordinary rules of English composition apply 

to the writing of the body of the story. The copy 

must be paragraphed, cut up into paragraphs that 

9i 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

are rather shorter than ordinary literary paragraphs, 
since the narrowness of the newspaper column makes 
the paragraph seem longer. Heterogeneous details 
must not be piled together in the same paragraph, 
but the facts must be grouped and handled logically. 
No paragraph should be noticeably longer than the 
others, and it is decidedly bad to paragraph one sen- 
tence alone simply because it does not seem to go in 
with any other sentence. If the fact is important 
expand it into a paragraph by the introduction of 
further details; if it is unimportant either cut it out 
of the story altogether or attach it to the paragraph 
to which it seems most logically to belong. 

One fact, already stated, must be borne in mind as 
the body of the story progresses. The report should 
be built up in such a way that the editor can slash 
off a paragraph or two at the end without injuring 
the story — without sacrificing any important facts. 
To do this the reporter should bring the important 
parts of the story as near the beginning as the logi- 
cal order will permit. The interest of a perfect news 
story is like an inverted cone. The interest is abun- 
dant at the beginning and gradually dwindles out 
until there is nothing more to say when the end is 
reached. Just how far the dwindling should be car- 
ried depends upon the amount of space that the story 
seems to be worth in the paper. 

92 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

This may seem difficult. It may be hard to see 
how a story can be told in its logical order while at 
the same time the most interesting facts are placed 
at the beginning, even if they logically belong near 
the end. For example, we may take the story of an 
unusual robbery. A well-dressed man goes into a 
grocery store to get some butter and tries to rob the 
grocer. In the ensuing scuffle the would-be robber 
escapes. A young woman who happens to be pass- 
ing sees the end of the fight and pursues the robber 
down the street until he runs into a saloon. She 
calls a policeman who is standing on the corner and 
the officer rushes into the saloon, up three flights of 
stairs and finds the robber on the roof behind a 
chimney. The officer shouts to another policeman, 
and together they arrest the robber. 

Now, what is the most interesting thing in the 
story? Probably the pursuit — a young woman chas- 
ing a robber down the street. Our lead might be 
written in this way: 

After being chased down Sixth street 
by a young woman, a robber, who had 
attempted to rob the grocery store of 
Charles Young, 1345 Sixth street, was 
arrested on the roof of a saloon at 835 
Sixth street, at 7 o'clock last night. 

The lead might be arranged in a different way, but 

93 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

these are the facts that it would contain. Before we 
consider the arrangement of the body of the story 
it may be well to go back to the interviews by which 
we secured the story. In getting the facts we would 
probably talk to Young, the groceryman, and to the 
saloonkeeper into whose establishment the robber 
fled. We could probably interview the policeman 
who made the arrest, but let us suppose that the 
young woman could not be found. The groceryman 
would tell us about the attempted robbery and the 
escape, with the girl in pursuit. The saloonkeeper 
would tell us how the man fled into his saloon and 
ran up the stairs to the roof; then how two police- 
men came and made the arrest. The policeman could 
tell us how a young woman ran up to him and told 
him that a robber had fled into the saloon; then he 
would describe the arrest. None of these stories is 
told just as we want the newspaper story — each one 
tells us only a part of the story. If the finished story 
were written by a green reporter it would probably 
tell the story in the order in which it was obtained. 
That is if the reporter saw the policeman first, then 
the saloonkeeper, and lastly the groceryman; his 
story would tell in the first paragraph what the po- 
liceman said, in the second paragraph what the 
saloonkeeper said, and in the last paragraph what the 
grocer said. At least that is the way in which green 

94 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

reporters in the classroom attempted to write the 
story. 

But, obviously, that is not the logical way to tell 
the story. The finished account should be written in 
the order in which it happened : i.e., first the robbery, 
then the pursuit, and lastly the arrest. This would 
be the ideal way to tell the story — according to the 
rules of English composition — if we could be sure 
that the entire story would be printed. But if it 
were written in this way and the editor decided to 
slash off the last paragraph, what would go? Ob- 
viously the arrest would not be printed ; and the ar- 
rest was quite interesting. We must find some way 
to bring the arrest nearer to the beginning. This 
may be done by selecting the most interesting parts 
of the story — by picking out the high spots, as it 
were. In this story the high spots are the attempted 
robbery, the pursuit, and the arrest. The details 
that fill in between are interesting, but not so inter- 
esting as these high spots. Hence these high spots 
of interest must be pushed forward toward the be- 
ginning. After the lead the story would begin at the 
beginning and tell the affair briefly by high spots in 
their proper order. It might be something like this : 

As Charles Young was closing his 
grocery last evening a young man came 
in and asked for a pound of butter. 

95 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Young turned to get it and his cus- 
tomer struck him over the head with a 
chair. The grocer grappled with his 
assailant and they fell through the front 
door. In the scramble, the robber broke 
away and ran down Sixth street. A 
young woman who was passing 
screamed and ran after him until he 
disappeared into a saloon. 

The young woman called Policeman 
Smith, who was standing nearby on 
Grand avenue, and the .latter found the 
would-be robber on the roof of the sa- 
loon. After a struggle, Smith arrested 
the man, with the aid of another police- 
man. 

The above account tells us briefly the most interest- 
ing parts of the story. A copyreader might not find 
it perfect, for the assault is allotted too much space 
and the pursuit too little, but it tells the story in its 
baldest aspect. This, with the lead, could be run 
alone. However, perhaps the story is worth more 
space ; at any rate, many interesting details have been 
omitted. If so, go back to the most interesting part 
of the story — the assault, perhaps, or the pursuit — 
and tell it with more details. Then retell some other 
part with more details. If your readers are inter- 
ested enough to read beyond the first three para- 
graphs they want details and will not be so particular 
about the order — for they already know how the 
story is going to end. 

9 6 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

This is one way of meeting the requirements of 
logical order and dwindling interest. This is a par- 
ticularly hard story to arrange in the conventional 
way since we must have the whole story to be inter- 
ested in any single part — it has too many striking in- 
cidents in it. On the other hand, a story which con- 
tains only one striking incident is much easier to 
handle. Suppose that we are reporting a fire which 
is interesting only for its cause or for a daring res- 
cue in it. Our lead would suggest this interesting 
element and the first part of our story would be de- 
voted entirely to the cause or to the rescue, as the 
case might be. But it is better to sketch briefly, im- 
mediately after or very close to the lead, the entire 
story, for our readers want to know how it ends 
before they can be interested in any particular part. 
If we sketch the whole story and show them that 
there is only one important thing in the story, they 
will be satisfied to read about the one striking inci- 
dent without wondering if there is not something 
more interesting further on. If we leave the con- 
clusion of the story to the end of our copy the editor 
may cut it off and leave our story dangling in mid- 
air. Every story must be treated in its own way, 
according to its own incidents and difficulties; no 
two stories are alike in substance or treatment. In 
every one our aim must be to keep to the logical 

97 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

order and at the same time to put the most interest- 
ing parts of the story near the beginning. 

The construction of the body of a story may be 
illustrated more clearly by a fatal fire story — since 
fire stories are more uniform, and hence easier to 
write than other news stories. Let us suppose that 
the story is as follows : At four o'clock in the after- 
noon a fire started from some unknown cause in the 
basement of a four-story brrck building at 383-385 
Sixth Street, occupied by the Incandescent Light 
Company. Before the fire company arrived the 
flames had spread up through the building and into 
an adjoining three-story brick building at 381 Sixth 
Street, occupied by Isaac Schmidt's second-hand 
store and home on the first and second floors and by 
Mrs. Sarah Jones's boarding house on the third. 
The Schmidts were away and Mrs. Jones's lodgers 
escaped via the fire escapes. Her cook, Hilda 
Schultz, was overcome by smoke and had to be car- 
ried out by Jack Sweeney, a lodger. Mrs. Jones fell 
from the fire escape and was badly bruised. Mean- 
while the firemen were at work on the roof of the 
burning four-story building. Blinded by the smoke, 
one of them, John MacBane, stepped through a sky- 
light and fell to the fourth floor. His comrades 
tried to rescue him by lowering Fireman Henry 
Bond into the smoke by the heels ; they were unsuc- 

98 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

cessful and Bond broke his arm in the attempt. The 
fire was confined to the lower floors of the two build- 
ings and extinguished. In searching for MacBane, 
the firemen found him suffocated on the fourth floor 
where he had fallen. 

The feature of the story is evidently the one death 
and the three injuries. Our lead might be written 
as follows : 



One fireman was suffocated and three 
other persons were injured in a fire in 
the Incandescent Light Company's plant, 
383-385 Sixth street, and an adjoining 
three-story building, late yesterday af- 
ternoon. 



This lead would suggest to the reader many interest- 
ing details to come in the body of the story, and evi- 
dently the details are not all of equal importance. 
The story could be told in its logical order, but, since 
the death is more interesting than the origin of the 
fire and the injuries are more significant than how 
the fire spread, it is obvious that it would not be best 
to tell the story in the order in which it is told above. 
Disregarding the lead, we must cover the follow- 
ing details in the body of our story : 

Description of buildings and occupants. 
Origin of fire. 

8 99 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Discovery of fire. 
Spread of flames. 
Injury of Mrs. Jones. 
Rescue of Hilda Schultz. 
Death of MacBane. 
Injury of Bond. 
Fire extinguished. 

This is the order in which things occurred at the fire. 
However, in our lead, we have drawn attention to 
our story by announcing that it concerns a fire in 
which a man was killed ; the death therefore should 
have first place in the body of the story. Hence, in 
the second paragraph immediately after the lead, we 
must tell how MacBane fell through the skylight 
and was suffocated. Along with his death we may 
as well tell how Bond broke his arm trying to rescue 
MacBane. Our lead has also announced two other 
injuries and, hence, they must be included next — 
that is, our third paragraph must be devoted to the 
injury of Mrs. Jones and the rescue of the uncon- 
scious Hilda. But as yet our details are hanging in 
the air because we have not said anything about the 
buildings or the fire itself. In the next paragraph 
it would be well to describe the buildings and their 
occupants and to give a very brief account of the 
course of the fire — perhaps in this way: 

ioo 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

Flames were first discovered in the 
basement of the Incandescent building 
and before the fire department arrived 
had spread through the lower floors and 
into the adjoining three-story building. 
The absence of elevator shafts and air- 
shafts enabled the firemen to extinguish 
the blaze before it reached the upper 
floors. 

This tells the main course of the fire, but there are 
some interesting details to add: first, the origin of 
the fire; next, the discovery; then more about how 
the fire spread; and lastly, how the fire was extin- 
guished. Our story by paragraphs would read as 
follows : 

ist Paragraph — The lead. 

2d Paragraph — Death of MacBane and injury of 
Bond. 

3d Paragraph — Mrs. Jones's injury and Hilda's 
rescue. 

4th Paragraph — Buildings, occupants, brief course 
of fire. 

5th Paragraph — Detailed account of origin of the 
fire. 

6th Paragraph — How the fire was discovered. 

7th Paragraph — More about the spread and 
course of the fire. 

8th Paragraph — How the fire was extinguished. 

101 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

9th Paragraph — Loss, insurance, extent of dam- 
age. 

Thus, while telling the story almost in its logical 
order, we have picked out the high spots of interest 
and crowded them to the beginning. Our readers 
will get the facts just about as fast as they wish to 
read them and in the order in which they wish them. 
Our story may be run in nine paragraphs or even 
more ; or the editor may slash off anything after the 
fourth paragraph without taking away any of the 
essential facts of the fire. This method of telling 
would fulfill all the requirements of an ideal news 
story. A similar outline of the facts that any story 
must present will often help a reporter to tell his 
story as it should be told. After listing the details 
he may number them in their order of importance 
and check them ofif as he has told them. 

This idea of throwing the emphasis and interest 
to the beginning applies to the individual paragraphs 
and sentences of the story, as well. Each paragraph 
must begin strongly and display its most interesting 
content in the first line. The emphatic part of each 
sentence should be the beginning. A glance at any 
newspaper column shows why this is necessary. 

The body of a news story is the place for the re- 

102 



FAULTS IN NEWS STORIES 

porter's skill and style. He is given all the liberties 
of ordinary narration and should make the most of 
every word. His individual style comes into play 
here. If the interest can be increased by a bit of 
dialogue the reporter may put it in. If the facts 
can be presented more effectively by means of direct 
quotation, the words of any one whom the reporter 
has interviewed may be of interest. However, these 
things must not be overworked because every trick 
of writing loses its effectiveness when it is over- 
worked. 

Dialogue used only to give facts which might be 
told more clearly in simple direct form should seldom 
be used. Dialogue in a news story is used only to 
color the story and not to reproduce the interviews 
by which the facts were obtained. In gathering the 
facts of a story it is sometimes necessary to inter- 
view 7 a number of people, but these interviews should 
not be quoted in the resulting story. Many a green 
reporter tries to give his story character by telling 
what the policeman on the corner, the janitor, and a 
small boy in the street told him about the incident. 
He succeeds only in dragging out the length of his 
story and confusing the reader. After all, the pur- 
pose of a newspaper is to give facts — and the clearer 
and the more direct the method the better will be 
the result. 

103 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

In striving for clearness and interest a reporter 
must remember that one of his greatest assets is con- 
creteness of expression. Of all forms of composi- 
tion newspaper writing possesses probably the great- 
est opportunity for definiteness. Facts and events 
are its one concern; theories and abstractions are 
beyond its range. Hence the more definite and con- 
crete its presentation of facts, the better will be its 
effect. The reporter should never generalize or 
present his statements hazily and uncertainly — a fact 
is a fact and must be presented as such. He must 
try to avoid such expressions as "several," "many," 
"a few" — it is usually possible to give the exact 
number. He must continually ask himself "how 
many?" "what kind?" "exactly when?" "exactly 
what?" Expressions like "about a dozen," "about 
thirty years old," "about a week ago," "about a 
block away," are never so effective as the exact facts 
and figures. Definite concrete details make a news 
story real and vivid. The real reporter of news is 
the one who can see a thing clearly and with every 
detail and present it as clearly and distinctly. 



VIII 

OTHER NEWS STORIES 

- The fire story is obviously not the only news story 
that is printed in a daily newspaper, but a study of 
its form gives us a working knowledge of the writ- 
ing of other news stories. The fire story is prob- 
ably the commonest news story, and it is by far the 
easiest story to handle, for its form has become 
somewhat standardized. We know just exactly what 
our readers want to know about each fire, and within 
certain limits all fires, as well as the reports of them, 
are very much alike. There is seldom more than 
one fact or incident that makes one fire different 
from another and that fact we always seize as the 
feature of our report. However, the fire story has 
been taken only as typical of other news stories. 
Now we are ready to study the others, using the fire 
story as our model in writing the others. 

There is a vast number of other stories that we 
must be able to write, and they lack the convenient 
uniformity that fires have. Not only does every 

105 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

story have a different feature, but it is concerned 
with a different kind of happening. One assignment 
may call for the report of an explosion, another the 
report of a business transaction, and another a mur- 
der. In each one we have to get the facts and choose 
the most striking fact as our feature. Never can 
we resort to the simple beginning "Fire destroyed," 
but we must find a different beginning for each as- 
signment. 

Just as in the fire story, the lead of any news 
story is the most important part. It must begin with 
the most striking part of the event and answer the 
reader's Where? When? How? Why? and Who? 
concerning it. All the rules that apply to the fire 
lead apply to the lead of any story. 

It would be impossible to classify all the news 
stories that a newspaper must print. The very zest 
of reporting comes from the changing variety of the 
work; no two assignments are ever exactly alike — 
if they were only one would be worth printing. 
Newspapers themselves make no attempt to classify 
the ordinary run of news or to work out a syste- 
matic division of labor; a reporter may be called 
upon to cover a fire, a political meeting, a murder, a 
business story, all in the same day. Each one is 
simply a story and must be covered in the same way 
that all the rest are covered — by many interviews for 

106 



OTHER NEWS STORIES 

facts. For our study it may be well to divide news 
stories into a few large groups. The groups over- 
lap and are not entirely distinct, but the stories in 
each group have some one thing in common that 
may aid us in learning how to write them. At most, 
the list is only a very incomplete summary of the 
more important kinds of news stories and is intended 
to be merely a suggestive way of supplying the stu- 
dent with necessary practice. 

1. Accidents. — Accident stories may be anything 
from a sprained ankle to a disastrous railroad wreck, 
but they all depend upon one element for their in- 
terest. They are all printed because people in gen- 
eral are interested in the injuries and deaths of other 
people — physical calamity is the common ground in 
all these stories. 

The number of possible accidents is infinite, but 
there are some common types that recur most often. 
Among these are : railroad, trolley, railroad crossing 
accidents ; runaways ; electrocutions ; explosions ; col- 
lapse of buildings; marine disasters; cave-in acci- 
dents ; elevator, automobile, aviation accidents. 

The feature of any accident story is always, of 
course, the thing that made the story worth printing, 
and that is usually the human life element. The 
feature of an accident story is almost always the 
number of dead and injured. Most reports of rail- 

107 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

road wrecks begin with "Ten persons were killed and 
seventeen were injured in a wreck, etc." The same 
is true of any accident story ; if more than one per- 
son is killed it is usually safe to begin with the num- 
ber of fatalities. In this connection it may be noted 
that the death of railroad employees seldom makes 
a story worth printing; they may be included in the 
total number, but if no passengers are killed, fatali- 
ties among trainmen seldom give a story any news 
value. 

Accident stories of course have many other pos- 
sible features; newspapers report many accidents in 
which no one is killed. In that case some other ele- 
ment gives the story news value and that element 
must be played up as the feature. Perhaps it is the 
manner in which the accident happened or the man- 
ner in which a person was killed or injured, as in 
an automobile accident. The cause of the accident 
may be the most interesting part of the story : train- 
wreckers or a broken rail in a railroad wreck, or the 
cause of an explosion. Very often an accident is re- 
ported simply because some well-known person was 
connected with it in some way; the name then be- 
comes the feature and comes into the first line. A 
story may be worth printing simply because of the 
unusual manner of rescue; such a feature is often 
played up in stories of marine accidents, cave-ins, 

108 



OTHER NEWS STORIES 



etc. Not infrequently some of the unusual attendant 
circumstances give a story news value : e.g., a police- 
man dragged from his horse and run over by an 
automobile while he is trying to stop a runaway. 

Here are some accident stories from the news- 
papers : 
Fatalities : 

Six men were killed and a dozen seri- 
ously injured early to-day by an out- 
bound Panhandle passenger train crash- 
ing into the rear end of a Chicago, Mil- 
waukee and St. Paul stock train at 
Twelfth and Rockwell streets. — Chicago 
Record-Herald. 



Manner : 



Run down by her own automobile, 
which she was cranking, at First and 
G streets, northwest, Dr. Alma C. Ar- 
nold, a chiropractic physician, 825 Fif- 
teenth street, northwest, was forced 
against the wheel of a passing wagon 
and seriously injured this morning. — 
Washington Times. 



Cause : 



Over-balanced by a granite stone 
weighing four tons, the entire cornice 
over the west portico of the new west 
wing of the capitol fell to the ground 
this afternoon, carrying with it Daniel 
Logan, foreman for the Woodbury 
Granite Company. — Madison Democrat. 
Attendant Circumstances : 

With a blast that shook the entire city 
and was believed by many to be an 
earthquake, three boilers in the new 

109 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

engine house of the Pabst brewery on 
Tenth street, between Chestnut street 
and Cold Spring avenue, exploded at 
about 4 o'clock this morning. — Milwau- 
kee Free Press. 



2. Robberies.— Another large class of news 
stories is concerned with robberies of various kinds. 
Unfortunately for the reporter, very few robberies 
are alike ; beyond the common ground of the interest 
in the amount stolen and the cleverness of the rob- 
ber's work, there is seldom any one thing that may 
be looked for as the feature of a robbery story. The 
reporter must decide what in the story makes it 
worth printing. 

Robbery stories may include anything from petty 
thievery to bank defaulting. Some of the possi- 
bilities are horse and automobile stealing, burglary, 
hold-ups, train and street-car robbery, embezzlement, 
fraud, kidnapping, safe-cracking, shop and bank rob- 
bery. It is well for the reporter who has to cover 
a story of this class to acquaint himself with the 
distinctions that characterize the various kinds of 
robbery and the various names applied to the people 
who commit this sort of crime: e.g., robber, thief, 
bandit, burglar, hold-up man, thug, embezzler, de- 
faulter, safe-cracker, pick-pocket. 

In general the chief interest in robbery stories is 

no 



OTHER NEWS STORIES 

in the result of the work — the amount taken — usu- 
ally accompanied by a term to designate the sort of 
robbery. Just how the crime was committed is often 
the feature, as in a train robbery or a clever case of 
fraud. If the victim or victims are at all well known 
their names may become the most interesting thing 
in the story — or even the name of a well-known 
criminal or band of robbers. In some stories, espe- 
cially if another paper has already covered the story, 
the pursuit or capture of the criminals is often inter- 
esting; the stories of bank robberies often begin in 
this way. Other attendant circumstances, such as 
the number of persons who witnessed the crime, may 
be the feature. In hold-ups, burglaries, and crimes 
of that sort, the death or wounding of the victim is 
often played up. Sometimes the reason for the 
crime, as in a kidnapping case, is of great signifi- 
cance. In the case of a robbery of a bank or any 
other institution which depends upon credit for 
its business, the story usually begins with, or 
at least mentions near the beginning, the pres- 
ent condition of the robbed institution. It is safe 
to say that in no case is the name of the criminal, 
the manner of his arrest (if it is not unusual), 
the police station to which he was taken, or the 
charge preferred against him worth a place in the 
lead. 

in 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



Some robbery stories from the daily press 

Amount taken : 

Furs worth $40,000 were stolen in the 
early hours of yesterday morning within 
a stone's throw of Madison Square. 
Apparently a gang in which there was 
a woman expert in choosing only the 
best furs carried off the costly skins, etc. 
— New York World. 

Manner of hold-up : 

Seized by thugs in broad daylight as 
he was crossing the railroad tracks at 
the foot of First avenue east, Fred 
Butzer, a stonemason of Butler, Minn., 
was thrown to the ground, a gag placed 
in his mouth, his pockets were rifled of 
§36. — Duluth News-Tribune. 

Unusual sort of pickpocket : 

A young man in evening dress, who 
was going down into the subway station 
at Times Square with the theater crowd 
that filled the entrance just outside of 
the Hotel Knickerbocker early last 
night, paused, knocked a woman under 
the chin and took away her silver chate- 
laine purse containing $20 as deftly as 
he might have flicked the ash off his 
cigarette. Then he disappeared. — New 
York Times. 

Unusual thieves : 

Two girl thieves not more than 
twelve years old and small in stature 
for their age have been operating with 
great success in the different stores in 
the neighborhood of Amsterdam ave- 
nue and Seventy-ninth street. Five or 
six thefts, etc. — New York Telegram. 

112 



OTHER NEWS STORIES 



Pursuit and capture : 

After a chase along Forty-second 
street and up the steps of the Hotel 
Manhattan, a woman, who said she was 
Sadie Brown, thirty-three years old, of 
No. 215 West Forty-sixth street, was ar- 
rested early today on suspicion of hav- 
ing picked the pocket of a man at, etc. 
— New York Telegram, 

Present conditions of robbed bank (second para- 
graph of an embezzlement story) : 

Banking Commissioner Watkins this 
afternoon declared that he found the 
bank perfectly sound, that all commer- 
cial paper was found intact, that none 
of the accounts have been juggled and 
that no erasures of any kind were dis- 
covered. — Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Unusual sort of burglar : 

Wearing a Salvation Army uniform, 
a burglar was caught early yesterday in 
the home of Walter Katte, a vice-presi- 
dent of the New York Central railroad, 
at Irvington - on - the - Hudson. — New 
York World. 



3. Murder. — The reports of crimes of this sort can 
hardly be classified, for there are so many things 
that may be worth featuring in any murder case. 
The story itself is usually of such importance that 
the mere fact that a murder has been committed 
gives it news value even if there is nothing unusual 
in the crime — just as in the case of a featureless fire 
story that begins with 'Tire/' The handling of a 

113 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

crime depends upon the character and circumstances; 
the reporter must weigh the facts in each case for 
himself. However, we usually find a feature in the 
number of persons murdered, the manner in which 
the crime was committed, the name of the victim, if 
he or she is well known, the reason for the deed, or 
in some of the many attendant circumstances, such as 
arrest, pursuit, etc. One rule must always be fol- 
lowed in the reporting of a murder story: the re- 
porter must confine himself to the necessary facts 
and omit as many of the gruesome details as pos- 
sible. He must tell it in a cold, hard-hearted way 
without elaboration, for the story in itself is grue- 
some enough. Just as soon as a murder story begins 
to expand upon shocking details it becomes the 
worst sort of a yellow story. 

Examples of murder stories from the newspapers : 



Manner : 



Motive : 



After crushing in the head of his su- 
perior officer with an axe, James Lay- 
ton, boatswain of the Liverpool sailing 
ship Colony, refused to submit to arrest, 
and, still waving the bloody weapon, 
committed suicide by jumping into the 
sea. — New York Mail 

In revenge for a beating he received 
the day before, Gaetona Ambrifi yester- 
day shot and instantly killed Frank Ric- 
cilianOj a sub-section foreman on the 

114 



OTHER NEWS STORIES 



Pennsylvania Railroad, while they were 
working on the roadbed near Peddle 
street, Newark. — New York Sun. 

Prominent name : 

Mayor William J. Gaynor of New 
York City was shot and seriously, per- 
haps fatally, wounded on board the 
steamer Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse at 
9 .30 as he was sailing for Europe. 

Resulting pursuit: 

The police of Brooklyn have another 
murder mystery to unravel through the 
finding early today of the body of 
Peter Barilla on Lincoln road, near 
Nostrand avenue, Flatbush. There were 
two bullet wounds in the body and four 
stab wounds in the back. — Brooklyn 
Eagle. 

Attendant circumstances : 

A hundred or more persons who were 
about to take trains witnessed the shoot- 
ing to death of a Jersey City business 
man in the Pennsylvania Railroad sta- 
tion there this afternoon. — New York 
Mail. 



4. Suicide. — What is true of murder stories is also 
true of suicide. Each individual case has an unusual 
feature of its own. We ordinarily find a good be- 
ginning in the manner of the suicide, the name of 
the person who has killed himself if he is well known, 
the reason for the act, or some one of the attendant 
circumstances — often the manner of resuscitation if 
the crime is unsuccessful. For some unexplained 
9 115 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



reason many papers do not print accounts of or- 
dinary suicides, except when the individual is prom- 
inent. At any rate the story must be told without 
gruesome details and as briefly as possible. 
Examples from the press : 

Name : 

William L. Murray of Rockview ave- 
nue, North Plainfield, paying teller of 
the Empire Trust Company of New 
York, committed suicide at Scotch 
Plains early this afternoon by shooting 
himself in the head. No reason is as- 
signed for the act. — New York Sun. 



Motive : 



Driven insane by continued brooding 
over ill health, Miss Ada Emerson, a 
former teacher in the Beloit city schools, 
killed herself in a crowded interurban 
car Saturday afternoon by slashing her 
throat with a razor. — Beloit Free Press. 



Here the manner is the feature, but it is not played 
up in the first line because it is too horrible. 

5. Big Stories. — The big stories of catastrophes 
are usually handled on a large scale — played up, as 
the newspaper men say. The story in itself is of 
sufficient importance to make it unnecessary to play 
up any single feature of the story. However, the 
reporter, in looking for a good beginning, often 
finds it in the most startling fact in the story. If 
he is reporting a riot he usually begins with the 

116 



OTHER NEWS STORIES 

number of killed or injured, the amount of property 
destroyed, the character of the riot, or the cause, as 
in this example : 



In an efforl to bring about the re- 
instatement of one of their number who 
had been discharged for non-unionism, 
a hundred or more journeymen bakers 
wrecked the bakeshop of Pincus Jacobs, 
at No. 1 571 Lexington avenue, early 
this morning. — New York Evening Post. 



In the case of a storm the human life element is 
of greatest importance, then the damage to property, 
and last, the peculiar circumstances. For example : 



CLEVELAND, Dec. 11. —Fifty-nine 
lives were the cost of a storm which 
passed over Lake Erie Wednesday night 
and Thursday, and more than $1,000,000 
worth of vessel property was destroyed. 
— New York Evening Post. 



If the story is concerned with a flood the human- 
life element is first, then the damage, the cause, the 
freaks of the flood, or the present situation. For 
example : 

PARKERSBURG, W. Va., March 10. 
— Three persons are known to have per- 
ished in a flood which swept down upon 
the city on Friday when two water 

117 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

reservoirs on Prospect Hill burst with- 
out warning. Forty houses were de- 
stroyed and many persons are missing. 
The property damage will be nearly 
$500,000. 

6. Police Court News. — The ordinary run of police 
court news is in a class by itself. Usually the only 
news value in the story depends upon some unusual 
incident or circumstance that attracts the attention 
of the reporter. This is of course the source of 
many of the stories of crime, mentioned before, but 
many stories turn up at the police courts which are 
not concerned with crime, although in some cases 
they are concerned with criminals. In this field of 
reporting there arc many opportunities for the hu- 
man-interest story which will be taken up in a later 
chapter. When the incident is reported in an or- 
dinary news story the feature is usually in some at- 
tendant circumstance and the story might well be 
classed with one of the above groups. Here are two 
examples from the daily press : 



Because he did not have sufficient 
money to buy flowers for his sweetheart, 
Henry Trupke, aged 21 years, forged 
a check for $22.50 on a grocer, J. Sie- 
berlich, 781 Third street, and after a 
week's chase was caught last night as 
he got off a Wisconsin Central train. — 
Milwaukee Sentinel. 

us 



OTHER NEWS STORIES 

But a few hours before receiving a 
sentence of two years in the house of 
correction for stealing furs from the 
store of Lohse Bros., 117 Wisconsin 
street, John Garner, self-confessed thief, 
was married to Rose Strean, one of the 
witnesses in the case, which was tried 
yesterday in the municipal court. — Mil- 
waukee Free Press. 



7. Reports of Meetings, Conferences, Decisions, etc. 

— This group includes all reports of meetings, or 
conferences, of bodies of any sort, political or other- 
wise, reports of judicial or legislative hearings or 
decisions, or announcements of resolutions passed. 
Such as : 



WASHINGTON, Jan. 15.— Acquisi- 
tion of the telegraph lines by the gov- 
ernment and their operation as a part 
of the postal system is the latest idea 
of Postmaster General Hitchcock. An- 
nouncement was made today that a reso- 
lution to this effect will be offered to 
Congress at the present session. — Wis- 
consin State Journal. 



There is always one thing in these stories that 
gives them news value — the purpose or result of the 
conference, hearing, or announcement. This pur- 
pose or result, of course, must be played up. The 
one point that the reporter should remember is that 

119 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

a well-written lead begins with the result or purpose 
of the meeting or announcement rather than with 
the name of the meeting or the name of the body 
that makes the announcement. Never begin a story 
thus : "At a meeting of the Press Club held in the 

Auditorium last night it was resolved that " 

Transpose the sentence and begin with a statement 
of what was resolved. In the following story the 
order is wrong: 

The Supreme Court of the United 
States, through the opinion delivered by 
Justice Vandevanter, today declared con- 
stitutional the employers , liability law 
of 1908. 

The import of the decision is buried; it should 
be written thus : 



The employers' liability law of 1908 
was today declared constitutional by the 
Supreme Court of the United States. 
Justice Vandevanter delivered the opin- 
ion of the court, made in four cases. 



In these stories, as in all other news stories, the lead 
must begin with the fact or statement that gives the 
story news value. Burying this fact or statement 
behind two or three lines of explanation spoils the 
effectiveness of the lead. A student of journalism 

120 



OTHER NEWS STORIES 

may gain very good practice in the writing of news 
stories by looking over the leads that appear iii 
the daily papers and transposing those leads which 
bury their news behind explanations. The first 
line of type in a lead is like a shop's show window 
and it must not be used for the display of packing 
cases. 

8. Stories on Other Printed Matter. — A large part 
of a newspaper's space, especially in smaller cities, is 
devoted to stories based on printed bulletins, an- 
nouncements, city directories, legislative bills, and 
published reports of various kinds. Sometimes a 
news story is written upon a pamphlet that was 
issued for advertising purposes — because there is 
some news in it. In all of these stories the reporter 
must look through the pamphlet to find something of 
news value or something that has a significant rela- 
tion to other news. Smaller papers often print 
stories on the new city directory ; the increase or de- 
crease in population is treated as news and a very 
interesting story may be written on a comparison 
of the names in the directory. In university towns 
the appearance of a new university catalog or bul- 
letin of any sort is the occasion for a story which 
points out the new features or compares the new bul- 
letin with a previous one. Reporters and corre- 
spondents in political centers, like state capitals, get 

121 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

out stories on committee and legislative reports and 
on ney? bills that are proposed or passed by the legis- 
lature. The writing of these stories is very much 
like the reporting of a speech, which will be dis- 
cussed later. The newest or most interesting feature 
in the report or bill is played up in the lead as the 
feature of the story, followed by the source of the 
story, the printed bulletin upon which the story is 
based ; thus : 



A new plan for placing the control of 
all water power in the state in the hands 
of the legislature was proposed in the 
minority report of Senators J. B. Smith 
and L. C. Blake, of the special legisla- 
tive committee on drainage, issued to- 
day. 



These eight classes of news stories do not include 
all the news stories that a newspaper prints, but they 
are in a way typical of all the others that are not 
mentioned. It will be noted from these that all 
news stories, just like the fire story, are usually writ- 
ten in about the same way. Each one has a lead 
which begins with the feature of the story — i.e., the 
fact or incident in the story which gives it news 
value and makes it of interest — and concludes by 
answering the reader's questions, when, where, who, 
how, why, concerning the feature. Each story be- 

122 



OTHER NEWS STORIES 

gins again after the lead, and in one or more para- 
graphs explains, describes, or narrates the incident 
in detail and in logical order. This body of the 
story which follows the lead, while following in 
general the logical order, is so written that its most 
interesting facts are near the beginning and its in- 
terest dwindles away toward the end. This is to 
enable the editor in making up his paper, to take 
away from the end of any story, as we have seen 
before, a paragraph or more without spoiling the 
story's continuity or depriving it of any of its essen- 
tial facts. The form of the conventional fire story 
may be used as a model in the writing of any news 
story. 

In writing the body of a story to explain, describe, 
or narrate the incident mentioned in the lead, every 
effort should be directed toward clearness. This is 
particularly true of stories which are in the main 
narrations of action. The number of facts that may 
be included must depend upon the length of the 
story ; if all of the facts cannot be included without 
overburdening the story, cut out some of the details 
of lesser importance, but treat those that are in- 
cluded in a clear readable way. Short sentences are 
always much better in newspaper writing than long 
involved sentences. Pronouns should always be 
used in such a way that there can be no doubt in 

123 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

regard to their antecedents. If a relative clause or 
participial expression sounds awkward make a sepa- 
rate sentence of it. In other words, be simple, con- 
cise, and clear — that is better in a newspaper than 
much fine writing. 



IX 

FOLLOW-UP AND REWRITE STORIES 

The terms "rewrite story" and "follow-up, or fol- 
low, story," are names which newspaper men apply 
to the rehashed or revised versions of other news 
stories. A large newspaper office employs one or 
more rewrite men who spend their entire time, re- 
writing stories. To be sure, a part of their work 
consists of rewriting, or simply recasting, poorly 
written copy prepared by the reporters. But the 
major part of their work, the part that interests us, 
involves something more than that. It involves the 
rejuvenation of stories that have been printed in a 
previous edition or in another paper, with the pur- 
pose of bringing the news up to the present moment. 

News ages very rapidly. What may be news for 
one edition is no longer news when another edition 
goes to press an hour later. A feature that may be 
worth playing up in a morning paper would not have 
the same news value in an evening paper of the 
same day. The news grows stale so quickly because 
new things are continually happening and new de- 

125 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

velopments are continually changing the aspect of 
previous stories. If a story has been run through 
two or three editions and new developments have 
changed it, the story is turned over to a rewrite man 
for consequent alteration. A story in a morning 
paper is no longer news for an evening paper of the 
same date, but a clever rewrite man, with or without 
new developments added to the story, can recast it 
so that it will appear to contain more recent news 
than the original story. The story of an arrest in 
a morning paper begins with the particulars of the 
arrest; but when the evening paper's rewrite man 
has rearranged it for his paper it has become the 
story of the trial or the police court hearing which 
followed the arrest. Perhaps the evening paper 
sends a man to get the later developments in the 
case, but every rewrite man knows the steps that 
always follow an arrest and he can rewrite the or- 
iginal story without additional information. His 
account of the later developments is called either a 
rewrite or a follow-up story, depending upon the 
method employed. The same fundamental idea of 
rejuvenating the former story governs the prepara- 
tion of both the rewrite and the follow-up story, but 
while the rewrite story contains no additional news, 
the follow-up presents later facts in addition to the 
old news. 

126 



FOLLOW-UP AND REWRITE STORIES 

1. The Rewrite Story. — The rewrite story is pri- 
marily a rehashing of a previous news story without 
additional facts. It attempts to give a new twist to 
old facts in order to bring them nearer to the present 
time. Without the aid of later facts the rewrite man 
can only select a new feature and revise the old facts. 
For example, suppose that a $100,000 grain elevator 
burns during the night. The fire would make a big 
story in a city of moderate size and the papers next 
morning would treat it at length. If no one were 
killed or injured the story would probably begin 
with a simple announcement of the fire in a lead of 
this kind : 



Fire destroyed the grain elevator of 
the H. P. Jones Produce Company, 
First and Water streets, and $50,000 
worth of wheat at 2 o'clock this morn- 
ing. The total loss is estimated at 
$150,000. 



Then the reporter would describe the fire at length, 
including all obtainable facts. By afternoon almost 
every one in the city has read the story — and yet the 
afternoon papers must print something about the big 
fire. If no new facts can be obtained the previous 
story must be rehashed and presented with a new r 
feature that will make it appear to be a later story. 
It is useless to begin the evening story with a mere 

127 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

announcement of the fire, for that is no longer news, 
and the rewrite man must find a new beginning to 
attract the attention of his readers. Perhaps in 
looking over the morning story, he finds that the 
fire was the result of spontaneous combustion in the 
grain stored in the elevator. In the morning story 
this fact was rather insignificant in the face of the 
huge loss, and most readers passed over it hastily. 
The rewrite man, however, who has no later facts at 
his command, may seize it as a new feature. Instead 
of beginning his story with the fact of the fire, which 
is already known, he begins with the cause, which 
appears to be later news. His lead may be as fol- 
lows: 



Spontaneous combustion in the wheat 
bins of the H. P. Jones Produce Com- 
pany's elevator, First and Water streets, 
started the fire which destroyed the 
entire structure with a loss of $150,000 
this morning. 



Or if the rewrite man is not so fortunate as to dis- 
cover a new feature as good as this, he may have to 
resort to beginning with a picture of the present re- 
sults of the fire — thus: 



Smouldering ruins and a tangled mass 
of steel beams are all that remain of 
the H. P. Jones Produce Company's 

128 



FOLLOW-UP AND REWRITE STORIES 

$100,000 grain elevator, First and Water 
streets, which was destroyed by fire 
this morning. 

It will be noticed that, while these new rewrite 
leads begin with a new feature, each new lead con- 
tains all the facts presented in the previous lead and 
is told with an eye to the man who has not read the 
earlier account. After the lead the rewrite man 
retells the whole story for the benefit of readers who 
did not see the morning papers and rearranges the 
facts so that they appear new to those who read the 
previous stories. Facts which the other papers bur- 
ied he unearths and displays; details which appear 
to be later developments he crowds to the beginning. 
The whole story is sorted and rewritten in a new 
order and with a new emphasis. The result is a 
rewrite story which appears to be later, although it 
contains no new facts at all. It is seldom, of course, 
that such a rewrite story is used for local news, for 
very rarely is it impossible for a later paper to dis- 
cover new facts. But in the case of news from the 
outside world, from other cities, the simple method 
of rehashing old facts must often be resorted to. If 
the story is based upon a single dispatch announcing 
an earthquake in Hawaii or a shipwreck in mid- 
ocean, many rewrite stories must be printed on the 
same facts before another message brings later news 

129 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

and additional details. An example of this is the 
treatment of the first few stories of the wreck of 
the White Star liner Titanic. The story was a big 
one, but the first dispatches were very meager and 
many rehashings of these few facts had to be printed 
before later and more definite news could be ob- 
tained. 

The simple rewriting of an old story ordinarily 
involves a condensation of the facts. If a morning 
paper printed two thousand words on the grain 
elevator fire above, an afternoon paper of the same 
day would hardly treat the story at such length. 
For the story is no longer big news. If a story has 
run through the first editions of a morning paper it 
would be cut down, as well as rehashed, in the later 
editions of the same paper. The story of the fire 
loses its initial burst of interest after the first print- 
ing, and only the essential facts and the facts 
that can be rejuvenated can be reprinted. 
The 2,oot>word version in the morning paper may 
be worth only five hundred words or less four hours 
later. 

2. The Follow-up Story. — If new facts are added to 
a story between editions the new version is no longer 
a simple rewrite story. It becomes a follow-up 
story, for it follows up the subsequent developments 
in the previous story and corresponds to the second 

130 



FOLLOW-UP AND REWRITE STORIES 

or succeeding installments of a serial novel in which 
each installment begins with a synopsis of previous 
chapters. For example, if, in the grain elevator fire 
story, the body of a watchman were found in the 
ruins after the morning papers have gone to press, 
the story would immediately have a different news 
value for the evening papers. The story of the big 
fire is old, but the discovery of the body is new. 
Hence the rewrite man would begin with the later 
development — perhaps thus : 



The body of a watchman was found 
this afternoon in the ruins of the H. P. 
Jones Produce elevator, which burned 
to the ground this morning with a loss 
of $150,000. 



The new story, while retelling the principal facts in 
the previous account, would give prominence to the 
latest news, the discovery of the body. As an ex- 
ample from a newspaper, let us take the follow-up 
of a murder mystery. The first stories on this mur- 
der simply said that a grocer had been found dead 
in the cellar of his store and murder had been sug- 
gested. The follow-up on the next day (printed 
here) deals with a new development — has a new 
feature — and carries the story one step further in 
the attempt to unravel the mystery : 
10 131 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Developments yesterday in the story 
of the killing of James White, the Park 
street grocer, tended to support the con- 
tention of Coroner Donalds and the po- 
lice that White was not murdered, but 
died by his own hand. 

3. Analysis. — So far we have treated the rewrite 
story and the follow-up story separately, but 
for the purposes of analysis and study they may 
be treated together, because the same fundamental 
idea governs both. Dissection of the follow-up 
story will also show us what the rewrite stor,y is 
made of. 

From the above clippings it will be seen that the 
lead of the follow-up story is very much like that 
of any news story. The lead has its feature in the 
first line and answers the reader's questions concern- 
ing that feature. It is simply a new story written on 
an old subject which has been given a new feature 
to make it appear new. Furthermore, it will be no- 
ticed that the lead of the follow-up story is com- 
plete in itself, without the original story that pre- 
ceded it. Although the whole idea of the follow 
story is based on the supposition that all readers 
have read every edition of the paper and are there- 
fore acquainted with the original story, yet for the 
benefit of those readers who have not read the pre- 
vious story, the follow-up must be complete and 

132 



FOLLOW-UP AND REWRITE STORIES 

clear in itself. New facts are introduced into the 
follow story, but its lead tells the main facts of the 
original story so that no reader will be at loss to 
understand what it is all about — in other words, it 
gives a synopsis of previous chapters. In many fol- 
low-up stories the new developments are supple- 
mented by an entire retelling of the original story. 
This is especially true when one paper is rewriting a 
story which broke too late for its preceding edition 
and was covered by a rival paper. At any rate, 
every follow-up story, like every other news story, 
must be so constructed as to stand by itself without 
previous explanation. 

Of the 142 bodies of victims of the 
Triangle Waist Company's fire on Sat- 
urday, that had been taken to the 
morgue up to noon yesterday when it 
was decided that all the dead had been 
recovered, all but 45 had been identi- 
fied today. 

This is a follow-up of a story two days before. 
Every reader of the paper probably knew everything 
that had been printed previously about the fire, and 
yet this lead very carefully recalls the fire to the 
reader's mind. Later in the story the principal facts 
of the original story are retold as if they were new 
and unknown, 

*33 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

It is interesting to see what in any given news- 
paper story can be followed up for a later story. 
The would-be reporter may get good practice in 
writing follow-up stories from the mere attempt to 
study out the next step in any given new story. 
With this next step as his feature he may try to 
write a follow-up story without additional informa- 
tion, and then compare it with other follow-up 
stories. For every news story contains within it 
clues to what may be expected to follow. 

When any serious fire occurs certain additional 
facts may always be expected to follow. The find- 
ing of more dead, the unravelling of a mysterious 
origin, the re-statement of the loss, and the present 
condition of the injured are some of the possibili- 
ties that a rewrite man considers when he tries to 
prepare a follow-up story on a fire. The Washing- 
ton Place fire in New York on March 25, 191 1, fur- 
nished admirable material for the study of the re- 
writing of fire stories. The fire occurred on Satur- 
day afternoon too late for anything but the Sunday 
editions. The original story as it appeared in the 
Sunday papers and the Monday issues, of papers 
which had no Sunday editions, began like this : 



One hundred and forty-one persons 
are dead as a result of a fire which on 
Saturday afternoon swept the three up- 

134 



FOLLOW-UP AND REWRITE STORIES 

per floors of the factory loft building 
at the northwest corner of Washington 
place and Greene street. More than 
three-quarters of this number are wo- 
men and girls, who were employed in 
the Triangle Shirt Waist factory, where 
the fire originated. — Boston Transcript, 
Monday. 



The Monday stories on the fire followed up vari- 
ous phases as shown in the following. Each one 
while indicating that the story was a follow-up re- 
told the principal incidents in the fire. 



The death list in the Washington 
place and Greene street fire was swelled 
today to 145, a majority of the victims 
being young girls. — Monday morning — 
second story. 

At dawn today it was estimated that 
25,000 persons had visited the temporary 
morgue on the covered pier at the foot 
of East Twenty-sixth street, set aside 
to receive the bodies of those who per- 
ished in the Washington place fire on 
Saturday afternoon. — Monday morning 
— second story. 

The horror of the fire in the ten- 
story loft building at Washington place 
and Greene street late Saturday after- 
noon, with its heavy toll of human lives, 
grows blacker each succeeding hour. — 
Monday afternoon. 

135 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



Of the 142 bodies in the morgue as a 
result of the Triangle Shirt Waist fac- 
tory fire, all but fifty had been identi- 
fied this morning. — Monday afternoon. 

On Tuesday other lines opened up for the rewrite 
man: 

Sifting down the great mass of testi- 
mony at their disposal, city and county 
officials hoped today to draw closer to 
the source of responsibility for Satur- 
day's factory fire horror in which 142 
persons lost their lives. Investigations 
started yesterday. — Tuesday afternoon. 

With all but twenty-eight of the vic- 
tims of the Triangle Shirt Waist factory 
horror identified, District Attorney 
Whitman continues steadily compiling 
evidence. Funerals for scores of vic- 
tims are being held today, while the re- 
lief fund, etc. — Tuesday afternoon. 

Borough President McAneny of Man- 
hattan, the district attorney's staff, the 
fire marshal, the coroner and the state 
labor department are bending every en- 
ergy toward fixing the blame for the loss 
of the 142 lives in the, etc. — Tuesday 
afternoon. 

Union labor, horrified by the full 
realization that the waste of human life 
in the Triangle Waist factory fire might 
have been saved had existing laws been 
enforced, today arranged for a monster 
demonstration of protest, etc. — Tuesday 
afternoon. 

136 



FOLLOW-UP AND REWRITE STORIES 

And so the stories ran for many days until news- 
paper readers had lost all interest in the fire. Most 
of the stories were simply retellings of the original 
story with a new bit of information in the lead. 
People were ravenous for more details about the 
fire and the follow stories supplied them until they 
were satisfied. Rarely is a fire worth so many re- 
tellings. 

A serious accident is often followed up in one or 
more editions. If many people are killed or injured, 
the revised list of dead or the present condition of 
the injured always furnishes material for a follow- 
up. Sometimes the fixing of the blame, as in a rail- 
road accident, or other resulting features are used as 
the basis of the rewriting. 

In the case of a robbery the commonest material 
for a follow-up story is the resulting pursuit or cap- 
ture. Very often a final report of the loss, the pres- 
ent condition of a robbed bank or public institution, 
or perhaps the regaining of the booty, makes a fea- 
ture for a new story. But usually the follow-up is 
concerned with the pursuit, capture, or trial. This 
is especially true if the original story has been told 
by an earlier paper and another later paper wishes 
to print a more up-to-date story on the robbery, 
such as : 



137 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



MINOCQUA, Wis., Oct. 22.— It now 
begins to look as if the bandits who 
robbed the State Bank of Minocqua 
early Tuesday morning would make 
their escape with the booty. (This is 
followed by a re-telling of the entire 
story of the robbery and an account of 
the pursuit.) 



The most usual follow-up of a murder story )S 
interested in the pursuit, capture, or trial of the per- 
petrator of the deed. For example : 



Following the discovery of the body 
of Pietro Barilla, an Italian, of Wood- 
haven, Long Island, who was stabbed 
to death by four men, presumably Black 
Hand members, in Lincoln Road, near 
Flatbush, early yesterday morning, the 
police arrested three men yesterday. 



Very often the present condition of the victim of 
an attempted murder calls for a new story. The 
stories following the attempted murder of Mayor 
Gaynor of New York are good examples of the lat- 
ter. If a mystery surrounds the crime a possible 
solution is grounds for a new story. The stories 
which might follow the unraveling of the mystery 
surrounding the fictitious death of the grocer, men- 
tioned at the beginning of this chapter, would be 
second-day murder stories. The original story, let 
us say, was something like this : 

138 



FOLLOW-UP AND REWRITE STORIES 

James White, a groceryman, was 
found dying yesterday with a bullet 
wound in his abdomen, in the cellar of 
his grocery store at 1236 Park street. 

The next story on the murder would be concerned 
with the unraveling of the mystery, thus : 

The preliminary inquiry yesterday by 
Coroner John F. Donalds, into the mys- 
terious death of James White, the Park 
street grocer, resulted in the conclusion 
that White was murdered. 

And so the stories might run on day after day fol- 
lowing the solution of the case like the succeeding 
chapters of a continued novel, and each one gives 
the synopsis of the preceding chapters in its lead, as 
every good follow-up story should do. 

Suicide stories seldom offer material for follow- 
up stories unless there is some mystery surrounding 
the case. Sometimes the present condition of a re- 
suscitated victim of attempted suicide or the dispo- 
sition of the estate of a suicide offers material for 
rewriting. 

Serious storms and floods are usually followed up 
for several days. Readers are always interested in 
the present condition of the devastated region. 
Very often the list of dead and injured is revised 
from day to day, and any attempt to lend aid to the 

139 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

unfortunate victims is always a reason for a later 
story. 

Any meetings, conferences, trials, conventions, or 
the like must be followed up day by day with suc- 
ceeding stories. Each story is complete in itself, 
but each one adds one more chapter to the report of 
the meeting. This method of following a continued 
proceeding calls for a series of follow-up stories; 
examples of the stories that follow a continued legal 
trial will be given later under Court Reporting. 

Many other illustrations might be given of fol- 
low-up stories that appear daily in the newspapers. 
In the last analysis, the follow-up or the rewrite 
story is nothing more than an ordinary news story, 
and as such must be written in the same way. It 
begins with a lead which plays up a feature and 
answers the reader's questions about the subject; 
the body of the story runs along like the body 
of any news story. But it is different in being 
a later chapter of a previous account; while com- 
plete in itself, it must not only indicate the previous 
story, but must tell its most important facts for 
readers who may have missed the previous story. 
It is simply a news story which is tied to a previous 
story by a string of cause and effect. 

4. Following Up Related Subjects. — In this con- 

140 



FOLLOW-UP AND REWRITE STORIES 

nection it may be well to mention another kind of 
follow-up story that is usually written in connection 
with big news events. It is written to develop and 
follow up side lines of interest growing out of the 
main story. In its most usual form it is a statisti- 
cal summary of events similar to the great event of 
the day — such as similar fires, similar railroad 
wrecks, etc., in the past. Any big story attracts so 
much attention among newspaper readers that the 
facts at hand are usually not sufficient to supply the 
public's demand for information on the subject. To 
satisfy these demands editors develop lines of in- 
terest growing out of the main event. They inter- 
view people concerning the event and concerning 
similar events; they describe similar events that 
have taken place in the past; they summarize and 
compare similar events in the past — in short, they 
follow up every line of interest ppened up by the big 
story and write stories on the result. These stories 
are of the nature of follow-up stories in that they 
grow out of, and develop, the main story in its 
greatest extent. 

For example, the wreck of the ocean liner Titanic 
called for innumerable side stories because the pub- 
lic's interest demanded more facts than the news- 
papers had at hand to supply. Hence, the papers 
wrote up similar shipwrecks in the past, gathered 

141 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

together summaries of the world's greatest ship- 
wrecks, interviewed people who had been in any 
way connected with shipwrecks or with any phase 
of this shipwreck, described glaciers and icebergs, 
estimated the depth of the ocean where the Titanic 
sank, described the White Star liner and other lin- 
ers, pictured real or imaginary shipwrecks, and de- 
veloped every other related subject. The real news 
in all this mass of material was very meager, but the 
related stories satisfied the greedy public and helped 
newspaper readers to understand and to picture the 
real significance of the meager news. 

In the same way a disastrous fire, like the burn- 
ing of the Iroquois Theater, calls for innumerable 
outgrowing stories. Even when the event reported 
in the main news story is not sufficiently important 
to call for related stories, it is often accompanied 
by a list (usually put in a box at the head of the 
story) of other similar events and their results. 
These follow-up stories of related subjects are, in 
form, very much like feature stories, although they 
usually conform to the follow-up idea of mentioning 
in their leads the main news event to which they are 
related. 



X 

REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

Every profession has its disagreeable tasks; jour- 
nalism has perhaps more disagreeable tasks than 
any other profession. All of a reporter's work is 
not concerned with running down thrilling stories 
and writing them up in a whirl of breathless inter- 
est. Our readers demand other kinds of news, and 
it is the reporter's task to satisfy them faithfully. 
There is probably no phase of the work that is quite 
so irksome as the reporting of speeches, lectures, 
sermons, etc., and there is probably no phase of the 
work about which most reporters have fewer defi- 
nite rules or ideas. Read the reports of the same 
speech in two different papers and note the differ- 
ence. They seldom contain the same things and 
more seldom do they tell what the speaker said, in 
the way and the spirit in which he said it. It is irk- 
some work and difficult work to condense an hour's 
talk into three stickfuls, and few reporters know ex- 
actly how to go about it. 

143 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

The report of a speech or a sermon or a lecture 
may come to a newspaper office in one of two ways. 
A copy of it may be sent to the paper or the reporter 
may have to go to hear the address and take notes 
on it. Very often the speaker kindly sends a 
printed or typewritten copy of his speech to the edi- 
tor a few days in advance with the permission to 
release it — or print it — on a certain date, after the 
speech has been delivered in public. If the speech 
is to be printed in full, the task is a mere matter of 
editing and does not trouble the reporter. Very 
few speeches receive so much space. The others 
must be condensed and put in shape for printing. 

After all, the usual way to get a speech is to go 
to the public delivery of the speech and bring back a 
report of it. At first sight this is a difficult task and 
green reporters come back with a very poor resume. 
However, a word or two of advice from the editor 
or some bitter experience eases the way. Some ad- 
vice may be given here to prepare the would-be re- 
porter beforehand. 

Some reporters who know shorthand prefer to 
make a stenographic report of the entire speech and 
rearrange and condense it in the office. This method 
is advisable only in the case of speeches of the great- 
est importance ; it is too laborious for ordinary pur- 
poses, since the account includes at most only a part 

144 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

of the speech. The best way, doubtless, to get a 
speech is to take notes on it. And yet this must be 
done properly or there is a danger of misinterpreta- 
tion of statements or of undue emphasis upon any 
single part of the speech. The report of a speech 
should be as well balanced and logical as the speech 
itself, differing from the original only in length and 
the omission of details. The speech report must be 
accurate and truthful or the speaker may appear at 
the office in a day or two with blood in his eye. A 
few rules may be suggested as an aid to accuracy 
and truthfulness. 

In the first place, do not try to get all the speech ; 
do not try to get more than a small part of it — the 
important part. There are two ways of doing this. 
If the speech is well arranged and orderly it is easy 
to tell when the speaker has finished one sub-divis- 
ion and is beginning another. Each division and 
subdivision will naturally contain a topic sentence. 
Watch for the topic sentences and get them down 
with the briefest necessary explanation to make 
them clear. Political speeches or impromptu talks 
are, on the other hand, not always so logically ar- 
ranged. Sometimes it is possible to get the topic 
sentences, but more often it is not. Then watch for 
the interesting or striking statements. You will be 
aided in this by the audience about you. Whenever 

145 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

the speaker says anything unusually striking or of 
more than ordinary interest the audience will show 
it by signs of assent or dissent. Watch for these 
signs, even for applause — and take down the state- 
ment that was the cause. If the statement inter- 
ested the original audience it will interest your read- 
ers. Naturally, mere oratorical trivialities must not 
be mistaken for striking statements. 

When you get back to the office to write up the 
report of the speech you will feel the need of direct 
quotations — in fact, the length of your report will 
be determined by the number of direct quotations 
that you have to use in it — as well as by editorial 
dictum. It would be entirely wrong to quote any 
expressions of your own because they are somewhat 
like the speaker's statements, and it is impossible to 
quote anything less than a complete sentence in the 
report of a speech. Hence you will need complete 
sentences taken down verbatim in the exact words 
of the speaker. Make it a point to get complete 
sentences as you listen to the speech. Whenever a 
striking statement or an interesting part of the 
speech seems worth putting in your story get it 
down completely. You will find yourself writing 
most of the time because, while you are writing 
down one important sentence, the speaker will be 
uttering several more in explanation and may say 

146 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

something else of interest before you have finished 
writing down his first statement. Strict attention, 
a quick pencil, and a good memory are needed for 
this kind of work, but the reporting of speeches will 
lose its terrors after you have had a very small 
amount of practice. 

Just as any news story begins with a lead and 
plays up its most striking fact in the first line, the 
report of a speech usually begins with the speaker's 
most striking or most important statement. As 
you are listening to his words watch for something 
striking for the lead — something that will catch the 
reader's eye and interest him. But you must ex- 
ercise great care in selecting the statement for the 
lead. Theoretically and practically it must be some- 
thing in strict accordance with the entire content of 
the speech and, if possible, it should be the one state- 
ment that sums up the whole speech in the most 
concise way. Somewhere in the discourse, at the 
beginning, at the end, or in some emphatic place, the 
speaker will usually sum up his complete ideas on the 
subject in a striking, concise way. Watch for this 
summary and get it down for the lead. However, 
there may be times when this summary, though 
concise, will be of little interest to the average reader 
and you will be forced to use some other striking 
statement. Then it is perfectly permissible to take 
11 147 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

any striking statement in the speech and use it for 
the lead, provided that the statement is directly con- 
nected with the rest of the discourse. But be fair 
to the speaker. Do not play up some chance remark 
as illustrative of the entire utterance ; don't bring in 
an aside as the most interesting thing in his speech. 
If a preacher forgets himself to the extent of ex- 
pressing a chance political opinion, it would ob- 
viously be unfair to him for you to play up that re- 
mark as the summary of his sermon. Your readers 
would get a false impression and the preacher would 
be angry. If he considers the chance remark of 
real importance in his sermon he will back it up with 
other statements that will give you an excuse for 
using it. In brief, watch for the most interesting 
and most striking statement in the entire speech, and 
in selecting this statement be fair and just and try to 
avoid giving a false impression of the speaker or 
of the speech. If you follow this rule you will 
never be in any danger of getting your paper into 
difficulties. 

Another rule in reporting lectures, speeches, etc., 
applies to the writing of all newspaper stories. 
Write your report at once while the speech is still 
fresh in your mind. Your report must preserve 
the logic and continuity of the speech — it must be a 
fair resume. Your notes will be at best mere jot- 

148 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

tings of chance sentences here and there. Do not 
allow them to get cold and lose their continuity. 
Write the report at once. 

The writing of the report of a speech, lecture, or 
sermon is the same whether it is taken from a 
printed or stenographic copy of the discourse or 
from notes. It is perhaps easier to write from your 
notes because you have the important parts of the 
speech picked out, ready for use, by the aid of the 
rest of the audience. Before you can resume a 
printed copy of the speech you must go through it 
and pick out the important sentences which you 
wish to quote and decide upon the most striking 
statement for the lead. There is no definite rule 
that can be followed in this except to take the topic 
sentences whenever they are stated with sufficient 
clearness. When you have decided on the state- 
ments that you wish to quote you have really re- 
duced the speech to a form practically identical with 
the notes taken from verbal utterance, and the writ- 
ing in either case is the same. 

The lead of the report is very much like the lead 
of any other news story — for the report of a speech 
is really a news story. As soon as the speech is 
mentioned, the reader unconsciously asks a number 
of questions about it and the reporter must answer 

149 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

them in the first sentence. As in any other news 
story the questions are: What? Who? Where? 
When? and perhaps How? and Why? Reduced to 
the case of the speech report, they amount to what 
did he say, who said it, where did he say it, when, 
and perhaps how and why did he say it. You may 
answer the what by giving the subject of the dis- 
course or by giving a striking statement in it. In 
every report the answer to some one of the ques- 
tions is of greater interest and must be placed in the 
first line. If the speaker is of more than ordinary 
prominence his name makes a good beginning. If 
an ordinary person makes a speech at some meeting 
of prominence the when or where takes precedence 
over his name. But in most cases the reporter will 
find that none of these things is of sufficient impor- 
tance for the beginning. Most public utterances 
that he will be called upon to report will be made by 
ordinary men in ordinary places and at ordinary 
times, and the most interesting part of the story will 
be what was said. Sometimes it suffices to give the 
title of the speech, but more often a striking state- 
ment from the speech makes the best beginning. 
However, although the speaker, the time, the place, 
etc., are overshadowed in importance by the subject 
or content of what the speaker says, they must be 
included in the same sentence with the title or strik- 

150 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

ing statement. That is, in short, we catch the read- 
er's interest with a striking statement from the 
speech and then delay the rest of the report while 
we tell who said it, when, where, etc. The neces- 
sity of this is obvious. 

In accordance with the foregoing there are sev- 
eral possible ways in which to begin the lead of the 
report of any speech. It would be wrong to say 
that any one is more common or better than the 
others; the choice of the beginning must rest 
with the reporter. And yet there are various things 
to be noted in connection with each of these be- 
ginnings. 

1. Direct Quotation Beginning. — Sentence. — The 
quotation that is to have the first line must of course 
be the most striking or the most interesting state- 
ment in the speech. If it consists of a single sen- 
tence — and it cannot be less than a sentence — the re- 
port may begin thus : 



"Participation in government is not 
only the privilege, but the right, of 
every American citizen and should be 
considered a duty," said the Rev. Fred- 
erick W. Hamilton, president of Tufts 
College, who spoke on "The Political 
Duties of the American Citizen" at the 
monthly men's neighborhood meeting in 
the Roxbury Neighborhood House last 
night. — Boston Herald. 

151 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Here the reporter has given us a sentence that is 
practically a summary of the speech, has told us who 
said it, when and where, and has completed the para- 
graph with the title of the speech. Sometimes the 
title of the speech is not of great importance and 
its place in the lead may be given to a little sum- 
mary as in the following: 



"The modern man isn't afraid of 
hell," was the concise explanation which 
W. Lathrop Meaker gave in Franklin 
Union Hall yesterday afternoon and 
evening of the fact that the churches are 
losing their grip on the average man. — 
New York Sun. 



A question which embodies the content of a speech 
may often be quoted at the beginning; thus: 



"Will the Baptist church continue to 
maintain an attitude of timidity when 
John D. Rockefeller of Standard Oil 
is mentioned?" asked the Rev. R. A. 
Bateman, from East Jaffrey, N. H., of 
the ministers assembled in Ford Hall 
last evening at the New England Baptist 
conference. — Boston Herald. 



The opening quotation may sometimes be made an 
excuse for a brief description of the speaker or his 
gestures as in the following. This is good at times 

152 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

but it may easily be overworked or become "yel- 
low" in tone. 



"There is no fire escape," remarked 
Gypsy Smith, the famous English evan- 
gelist, yesterday before the fashionable 
audience of the Fifth Avenue Baptist 
Church. He held aloft a Bible as he 
made this declaration during an elo- 
quent sermon on the possibility of losing 
faith and wandering from the narrow 
way. — New York World. 



2. Direct Quotation Beginning. — Paragraph. — You 

notice that in each of the foregoing the quoted sen- 
tence is incorporated grammatically into the first 
sentence of the lead. It is followed by a comma and 

the words "said Mr. ," "was the statement 

of ," "declared Mr. ," etc. This construc- 
tion is possible only when the quoted sentence is 
short and simple. When it is long or complex, it 
is well to paragraph it separately and to put the 
explanations in a separate paragraph, thus: 



"If the United States had possessed 
in 1898 a single dirigible balloon, even 
of the size of the one now at Fort 
Myer, Virginia, which cost less than 
$10,000, the American army and navy 
would not have long remained in doubt 
of the presence of Cervera's fleet in 
Santiago harbor. ,, 

153 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

This statement was made today by- 
Major G. O. Squier, assistant chief sig- 
nal officer of the army, in an address 
on aeronautics delivered before the 
American Society of Mechanical Engi- 
neers at 29 West Thirty-ninth street. — 
New York Mail. 



This same construction must always be used when 
the statement quoted in the lead consists of more 
than one sentence, as in the following : 



'The climate of Wisconsin is as good 
for recovery from tuberculosis as that 
of any state in the union. It is not the 
climate, but the out-of-doors air that 
works the cure." 

So said Harvey Dee Brown in his 
tuberculosis crusade lecture in Kilbourn 
park last night. — Milwaukee Free Press. 



It is to be noted that the statement quoted in the 
lead is never split into two parts, separated by ex- 
planation. The quotation is always gathered to- 
gether at the beginning and followed by the expla- 
nation. 

3. Indirect Quotation Beginning. — This method is 
best adapted to the playing up of a brief resume of 
the content of the speech. It is sometimes called 
the "//m£-clause beginning" because it always begins 
with a Mctf-clause which is the subject of the princi- 

154 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

pal verb of the sentence — "was the statement of," 
"was the declaration of," etc. The that-clause may 
contain a resume of the entire speech or only the 
most striking statement in it. Here is one of the 
latter: 



That the cruise of the battleship fleet 
around the world has taught the citi- 
zens of the United States that a power- 
ful fleet is needed in the Pacific was the 
statement of Rear Admiral R. C. Holly- 
day, chief of the bureau of yards and 
docks of the navy, at a luncheon given 
to him by the board of trustees of the 
Chamber of Commerce at the Fairmont 
Hotel yesterday. — San Francisco Exam- 
iner. 



It is not always necessary to use the phrase "was 
the statement of." A variation from it is often 
very good : 



That it is the urgent mission of the 
white people of America, through their 
churches and Sunday-schools, to educate 
the American negro morally and re- 
ligiously, was the sentiment of the 
twelfth session of the International Sun- 
day-school Convention last night, voiced 
with special power and eloquence by Dr. 
Booker T. Washington, the chief 
speaker of the evening. — Louisville 
Courier-Journal. 

r 55 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

That the Irish race has a great des- 
tiny to fulfill, one greater than it has 
achieved in its glorious past, was the 
prophecy of Prof. Charles Johnston of 
Dublin university in his lecture at the 
city library Sunday afternoon. — Wiscon- 
sin State Journal. 

It is perfectly good usage to begin such a lead 
with two that-clausts or even with three. The two 
clauses in this case are of course treated as a singu- 
lar subject and take a singular verb. It is usually 
best not to have more than three clauses at the begin- 
ning and even three must be handled with great 
care. Three clauses at the beginning, if at all long, 
bury the speaker's name too deeply and may become 
too complicated. Unless the clauses are very closely 
related in idea, it is usually better not to use more 
than two. Naturally when more than one that- 
clause is used in the lead, all of the clauses must be 
gathered together at the beginning; never should 
one precede and one follow the principal verb. Here 
is an example of good usage : 

NEW YORK, Feb. 25.— That Amer- 
ica is entering upon a new era of civic 
and business rectitude and that this is 
due to the awakening of the moral 
conscience of the whole people was the 
prophecy made here tonight by Gov- 
ernor Joseph W. Folk of Missouri. — 
Chicago Record-Herald. 

156 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

4. Summary Beginning. — This is a less formal way 
of treating the indirect quotation beginning. It 
is simply a different grammatical construction. 
Whereas in the that-clause beginning the principal 
verb of the sentence is outside the summary (e. g., 
'That . . . was the statement of"), in the 
summary beginning the principal verb of the sen- 
tence is the verb of the summary and the speaker is 
brought in by means of a modifying phrase ; thus : 

MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. i.— Both the 
free trader and the stand-patter are 
back numbers, according to Senator Al- 
bert J. Beveridge of Indiana, who de- 
livered a* tariff speech here tonight. — 
Milwaukee Free Press. 

Federal control of the capitalization of 
railroads is the solution of the railroad 
problem suggested by E. L. Phillipp, the 
well-known Milwaukee railroad expert, 
in the course of a speech at the third 
annual banquet of, etc. — Milwaukee Free 
Press. 

The summary beginning may be handled in many 
different ways and allows perhaps more grammatical 
liberty than any other beginning. The summary 
may even be given a sentence by itself as in the 
following. This kind of treatment may easily be 
overdone and should be handled with great caution : 

157 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

If you have acute mania, it is the 
proper thing to take the music cure. 
Miss Jessie A. Fowler says so, and she 
knows. Miss Fowler discussed "Music 
Hygienically' , before the "Rainy 
Daisies" at the Hotel Astor yesterday 
and prescribed musical treatment for 
various brands of mania. — New York 
World. 



5. Keynote Beginning. — Very closely related to 
the summary beginning is the keynote beginning, in 
which the subject of the main verb is an indirect 
presentation of the content of the speech. Whereas 
the summary beginning displays its resume in a 
complete sentence, the keynote beginning puts the 
content of the speech in a single noun and its modi- 
fiers. Thus : 



The ideal state university was the 
theme of a speech delivered by, etc. 

The mission of the newspaper to tell 
the truth, to stand for high ideals, and 
to strive to have those ideals adopted 
by the public was the keynote of an ad- 
dress delivered by, etc. 



6. Participial Beginning. — This is less common 
than the other kinds of indirect quotation beginnings 
but it is often very effective. The summary of the 
speech or the most striking statement is put into a 

158 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 



participial phrase at the beginning and is made to 
modify the subject of the sentence (the speaker). 
It must of course be remembered that such a par- 
ticipial phrase can be used only to modify a noun, 
as an adjective modifies a noun, and can never be 
made the subject of a verb. Here is an example of 
good use of this beginning: 



Upholding the right of public criti- 
cism of the courts on the theory that 
there can be no impropriety in investi- 
gating any act of a public official, Judge 
Kennesaw M. Landis last night ad- 
dressed the students of Marquette Col- 
lege of Law and many members of the 
Milwaukee bar. — Milwaukee Free Press. 



Just as it is perfectly possible to begin an indirect 
quotation lead with two ^a^-clauses instead of one, 
it is also possible to use two participial phrases in 
the participial beginning ; as : 



Pleading for justice and human af- 
fection in dealing with the delinquent 
child, and urging the vital need of leg- 
islation which shall enforce parental 
responsibility, Mrs. Nellie Duncan made 
an address yesterday which stirred the 
sympathies of an attentive audience in 
the First Presbyterian Church. — San 
Francisco Examiner. 



J59 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Although the participial phrase usually gives the 
summary of the speech, not infrequently the par- 
ticipial construction is used to play up the name of 
the speech or some other fact and the summary comes 
after the principal verb of the lead ; thus : 



Paying tribute to the memory of 
President William McKinley last night 
at the Metropolitan Temple, where ex- 
ercises were held to dedicate the Mc- 
Kinley memorial organ, Judge Taft told 
in detail of his commission to the Phil- 
ippine service and his subsequent inti- 
mate connection with the President. — 
New York Tribune. 



7. Title Beginning — There are two reasons for be- 
ginning the report of a public utterance with the 
speaker's subject or title. The title itself may be 
so broad that it makes a good summary of the 
speech, or it may be so striking in itself that it at- 
tracts interest at once. In the following examples 
the title is really a summary of the speech: 



NEW YORK, Dec. 15.— "The Com- 
pensation of Employes for Injuries Re- 
ceived While at Work" was taken by 
J. D. Beck, commissioner of labor of 
Wisconsin, as the theme of his address 
before the National Civic Federation 
here today. — Milwaukee Free Press. 

160 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

'The Emmanuel Movement" was the 
subject of an address by Rabbi Stephen 
S. Wise of the Free Synagogue yester- 
day morning. — New York Evening Post. 



In the following stories the reporter began with 
the title evidently because it was so strikingly un- 
usual and also because it was the title of a strikingly 
unusual speech by an unusual man. This kind of 
title beginning is always very effective : 

"Booze, or Get on the Water Wagon," 
was the subject on which Rev. Billy 
Sunday, the baseball evangelist, ad- 
dressed an audience of over 4,000 per- 
sons at the Midland Chautauqua yes- 
terday afternoon. For two hours Sun- 
day fired volley after volley at the 
liquor traffic. — Des Moines Capital. 

"If Christ Came to Milwaukee" was 
the subject of the Rev. Paul B. Jenkin's 
Sunday night in Immanuel Presbyterian 
Church. — Milwaukee Sentinel. 

8. Speaker Beginning. — It is obvious that this is 
the easiest beginning that may be used in the report 
of a speech. But just as obviously it is the begin- 
ning that should be least used. Just as in writing 
news stories a green reporter always attempts to 
begin every lead with the name of some person in- 
volved, in reporting a public discourse he has a 

161 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

strong desire to put the narr^e of the speaker before 
what the speaker said. But the same tests may be 
applied to both cases. Are our readers more inter- 
ested in what a man does than in the man himself; 
do our readers go to hear a given speaker because 
they wish to hear what he has to say or because 
they wish to hear him? Whenever the public is so 
interested in a man that it does not care what he 
says, then you may feel safe in beginning the report 
of what he says with his name. This test may be 
altered, especially in smaller cities, by previous in- 
terest in the speech; if the speech has been expected 
and looked forward to with interest, then, no mat- 
ter if the speaker is the President himself, his name 
is not as good news as what he has to say. Even 
if the lead does begin with the speaker's name, the 
reporter usually tries to bring a summary of the 
speech or the most striking statement into the first 
sentence after the name. For example : 



Speaker Joseph G. Cannon placed 
himself on record last night in favor 
of a revision of, the tariff in accordance 
with the promise of the Republican 
party platform and declared that so far 
as his vote was concerned he would see 
to it that the announced policy of re- 
vision would be written in the national 
laws as soon as possible. The words 
of the speaker came at a luncheon given 

162 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

to six rear admirals of the United States 
navy by Alexander H. Revell of Chicago 
in the Union League Club, at which the 
need of more battleships and increased 
efficiency of the fighting forces of the 
republic were the principal themes of 
discussion. 



This example was chosen because, while it is writ- 
ten in accordance with the rules of the speaker be- 
ginning, it is obviously too long and complicated 
— over no words. It would be better to gather it 
together and condense it as in the following: 

Chief Forester GifTord Pinchot opened 
the second day's session of the national 
conservation congress yesterday by an 
address in which he expressed his en- 
tire satisfaction and his confidence in 
the attitude of President Taft toward 
conservating the national resources. — 
Milwaukee Sentinel. 

ST. PAUL, Minn., Feb. 10.— Booker 
T. Washington of Tuskegee, Ala., in an 
address at the People's Church tonight 
predicted that within two years the 
liquor traffic would be driven out of all 
the southern states but two. — Milwaukee 
Sentinel. 

There are obviously other beginnings that can- 
not be classed under any of the above heads. Some 
of them, much like the "freak" leads that may be 
12 163 



* NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

seen in many newspapers of the present day, may be 
called free beginnings for want of a better name. 
These free beginnings are quite effective when prop- 
erly handled but the novice must use them with fear 
and trembling. They may be witty or they may be 
sarcastic, but they are usually dangerous. The dif- 
ference in the eight beginnings discussed above is 
mainly one of grammatical construction; the same 
fundamental ideas govern them all. Their pur- 
pose is always to play up a striking statement or a 
summary of the speech report and to give at the 
very outset the necessary explanation concerning 
the speech. 

THE BODY OF THE REPORT 

The body of the report of a speech is not so dis- 
tinct from the lead as the body of an ordinary 
new r s story. In the news story it is safe to assume 
that many readers will not go beyond the lead, but 
in the report of a speech this is not so true. It is 
less possible to give the main facts in the lead of 
a speech report and the rest of the story is more 
necessary. Hence it must be written with as great 
care as the lead. 

The body of the report should consist of direct 
quotation in so far as possible. The reader is in- 

164 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

terested in what the speaker said and it is impos- 
sible to make a summary in indirect discourse as 
convincing as the actual quotation of his words. Be 
sure that the quotations are the speaker's exact 
words or very nearly his exact words, so that he 
cannot accuse you of misquoting him. The spirit 
of his words must be in the quotation, anyway. 

In these quotations nothing less than a complete 
sentence should be quoted. Do not patch together 
sentences of indirect and direct quotation, like the 
following — He said that some of us are prone to 
let things be as they are, "because the philanthropic 
rich help in our times of trouble and in sickness." 
Such quotation is worse than no direct quotation 
at all. Of course, this does not mean that one can- 
not add "said the speaker" to a direct quotation, but 
it means that "said the speaker" can be added only 
to quotations that are complete sentences. Further- 
more whenever it is necessary to bring in "said the 
speaker," or similar expressions, they should be 
added at the end of the quoted sentence — the least 
emphatic part of a newspaper sentence. 

Obviously a condensed report of a speech can only 
quote sentences here and there throughout the 
speech — the high spots of interest, as we called 
them before. These must not be quoted promiscu- 
ously and disconnectedly. The original speech had 

165 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

a logical order and set forth a logical train of 
thought. These should be followed as far as pos- 
sible in the report. Bring in the quotations in their 
true order and fill the gaps between them with in- 
direct discourse to knit them together and to give 
the report the coherence of the original speech. But 
do not carry this indirect explanation to the extent 
of making your copy a report of the speech in in- 
direct discourse with occasional bits of direct quo- 
tation to illustrate. Remember that, after all, the 
direct quotation is the truly effective part of the 
speech. 

Whenever a paragraph contains both direct and 
indirect quotation, the direct quotation should al- 
ways precede the indirect. But it is much better 
to paragraph the two kinds of quotation separately, 
making each paragraph entirely of direct, or entirely 
of indirect, quotation. If a paragraph must contain 
both, begin it with the direct so that as the reader 
glances down the column he will see a quotation 
mark at the beginnings of most, if not all, of the 
paragraphs. By the same sign, when your notes 
are lacking in direct quotations, bring in as many 
of the quotations as possible at the beginning of the 
report and let the indirect summary occupy the end 
where it may be cut off by the editor if he does not 
wish to run it. 

166 



REPORTS OF SPEECHES 

Here is a good illustration of a part of the body 
of a good speech report — it is the second paragraph 
of one of the stories quoted under the "Speaker" 
beginning above : 

"I can not account for the moral revo- 
lution that is sweeping over the South," 
he continued. "The sentiment against 
whisky is deeper than the mere desire to 
get it away from the black man. That 
same sentiment is found in counties that 
contain no negro population. People 
who say that the law will not be en- 
forced have not been in the South. — 
B. T. Washington's speech, Milwaukee 
Sentinel. 

You will notice that although the above paragraph 
is composed entirely of direct quotation it has no 
quotation mark at the end. This is, of course, in 
accordance with the old rule of rhetoric which says 
that in a continuous quotation each paragraph shall 
begin with a quotation mark but only the last shall 
be closed by a quotation mark. 

To illustrate the errors that may be made in re- 
porting speeches we might write the above para- 
graph as follows: 

Mr. Washington continued by saying 
that he could not account for the revo- 
lution that is sweeping over the South. 

167 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



"The sentiment against whisky is deeper 
than the mere desire to get it away from 
the black man." He says that "the same 
sentiment is found in counties that con- 
tain no negro popnlation. ,, People who 
say that the law will not be enforced 
"have not been in the South," accord- 
ing to Booker T. Washington. 



The clumsiness of this mingling of direct and indi- 
rect quotation is very clear, as is the weakness of be- 
ginning with an explanation that is really subordi- 
nate. 

Much more could be said about the reporting of 
speeches. Very few things will make a man so 
angry as the misquoting of his words. Therefore, 
whatever other faults your report of a speech may 
have, let it be accurate and truthful. 



XI 

INTERVIEWS 

If you compare any interview story with any 
speech report in any representative newspaper, you 
will readily see how a discussion of interviews eas- 
ily becomes an explanation of the differences be- 
tween interview stories and speech-reports; that 
is, how the report of an interview differs from the 
report of a public utterance of a more formal kind. 
There are few differences in the written reports. 
Each usually begins with a summary or a striking 
statement and consists largely of direct quotation. 
Were it not for the line or two of explanation at 
the end of the introduction, it would be practically 
impossible to tell the one from the other, to tell 
which of the reports sets forth statements made in 
a public discourse and which gives statements made 
in a more private way to a reporter. 

The difference lies behind the report, in the way 
the reporter obtained the statements and quotations. 
And the whole difference depends upon the attitude 

169 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

of the man who made the statements — whether his 
words were a conscious or an unconscious public 
utterance. When a man speaks from a platform he 
utters every sentence and every word with an idea 
of possible quotation — he is not only willing to be 
quoted but he wants to be quoted. But when he 
speaks privately to a reporter he usually dreads quo- 
tation. Of course, he expects that you will print a 
few of his remarks but he is constantly hoping that 
you will not remember and print them all. He 
speaks more guardedly, too, since he is not sure of 
the interpretation that may be given to his words. 
Hence it is a very different matter to report what 
a man says in public and to get statements for the 
press from him in private. Any one can report 
a speech but great skill is required to get a good in- 
terview — especially if the victim is unwilling to talk. 
The first matter that a reporter has to consider 
is the means of retaining the statements until he 
is able to write his story. It is a simple matter to 
get quotations from a speech because it is possible 
to sit anywhere in the audience and write down 
the speaker's words in a notebook as they are ut- 
tered. But the notebook must be left behind when 
you try to interview. When a man is not used to 
being interviewed nothing will make him reticent 
so quickly as the appearance of a notebook and pen- 

170 



INTERVIEWS 

cil ; he realizes that his words are to appear in print 
just as he utters them and he immediately becomes 
frightened. Ordinarily so long as he feels that 
what he says is going into the confidential ear of 
the reporter — and out of the other ear just 
as quickly — he is willing to talk more freely and 
openly and to say exactly what he thinks. This, 
of course, does not apply to prominent men who 
are used to being interviewed and prefer to have 
their remarks taken down verbatim. Such an in- 
terview, however, is little more than a call to se- 
cure a statement for publication. 

It might be well to settle the notebook question 
here and now when it assumes the greatest impor- 
tance. The stage has hardened us to seeing a re- 
porter slinking around the outskirts of every bit of 
excitement writing excitedly and hurriedly in a 
large leather notebook. So hardened are we to the 
sight that some new reporters buy a notebook just 
as soon as they get a place on a newspaper staff. 
But real reporters on real newspapers do not use 
notebooks. A few 7 sheets of folded copy paper hid- 
den carefully in an inside pocket ready for names 
and addresses and perhaps figures are all that most 
of them carry. Many people dread publicity and 
the appearance of a notebook frightens them into 
silence more quickly than the actual appearance of 

171 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

a representative of the press. This is true in the 
reporting of any bit of news, in the covering of any 
story — and it is ordinarily true in interviewing for 
statements that are to be quoted. Of course, an 
exception to this must be made in the case of some 
prominent men who prefer to issue signed written 
statements when they are interviewed. 

The impossibility of using a notebook or writing 
down a man's words in an interview seriously com- 
plicates the task of interviewing. Some reporters 
train themselves until they are able to remember 
their victim's words long enough to get outside and 
write them down. Others are satisfied with getting 
the ideas and the spirit of what is said together with 
the man's manner of talking. A few characteristic 
mannerisms thrown in with a true report of his 
ideas will make any speaker believe that you have 
quoted him exactly. Whichever method is pursued, 
the reporter must always be fair and try to tell the 
readers of the paper the man's true ideas. The ex- 
igencies of the case give the reporter greater liberty 
than in quoting from a speech but he must not abuse 
his liberty. 

The success of an interview depends very largely 
upon the way in which a reporter approaches the 
man whom he wishes to interview. It is never well 
to trust to the inspiration of the moment to start 

172 



INTERVIEWS 

the conversation. The reporter must know exactly 
what he wishes to have the man say before he ap- 
proaches him and must already have framed his 
questions so as to draw out the answers that he 
wishes. People are never interviewed except for a 
purpose and that purpose should suggest the re- 
porter's first question. No matter how willing the 
man is to tell what he thinks he will seldom begin 
talking until the reporter asks him a definite ques- 
tion to help him in putting his thoughts into words. 
All of this should be considered beforehand. The 
reporter should have outlined a definite campaign 
and have a series of questions which he wishes to 
ask. If he has written the questions out before- 
hand, the task becomes an easier one — he merely 
fills in the answers on his list later and has the in- 
terview in better form than if he had tried to trust 
entirely to his memory. To be sure, the questions 
may open up unexpected lines of thought and he 
may get more than he went for, but he must have 
his questions ready for use as soon as each new line 
is exhausted. A skilled reporter frames the inter- 
view himself and keeps the result entirely in his own 
hands through the campaign that he has outlined 
beforehand. Unless he knows exactly what he 
wants to get, a wary victim may lead him off upon 
unimportant facts and in the end tell him nothing 

173 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

that his paper has sent him to get. A reporter must 
keep the reins of an interview in his own possession. 

A good reporter takes great care in his manner 
of addressing a man whom he is to interview. A 
well-known newspaper follows the rule of asking 
its reporters never to do what a gentleman would not 
do. A reporter who is trying to interview must al- 
ways be a gentleman and must not ask questions 
that a gentleman would not ask. If the victim is 
a prominent man of great personality it is not hard 
to follow this rule — in fact, it is impossible to get 
the interview by any other method of approach. But 
when one is trying to interview a person of humbler 
station, the case is different. It is very easy then 
to fall into a habit of demanding information and 
turning the interview into an inquisition. But the 
reporter who keeps his attitude as a gentleman gets 
more real facts even when his victim is of the most 
humble social status. Therefore, never approach 
your victim as if he were a witness and you a cross- 
questioning lawyer. Do not say : "See here, you 
know more about it than that," and thus try to 
force unwilling information from him. Go at him 
in a more round-about way and lead him to give 
you the facts unwittingly perhaps. 

A young reporter often feels an impulse to become 
too personal with the man whom he is interviewing. 

174 



INTERVIEWS 

He must always remember that he is not there for 
a friendly chat but as a representative of a news- 
paper, sent to get concise facts or opinions. This 
attitude must be maintained even with the humblest 
persons. Any desire to sympathize, criticize, or ad- 
vise must be checked at the very start. The point 
of view must always be kept. 

Although the main difference between writing in- 
terview stories and reporting speeches lies in the 
very act of getting the quotations and words of the 
speaker, there are certain aspects in which the writ- 
ing of an interview story is different. The actual 
form of the two stories is almost identical and yet 
there is a tone in the interview story that is lacking 
in the report of a speech. This may be called the 
personal tone. 

The very name of the speaker obviously plays a 
much larger part in the interview story than in the 
speech report. We may be more interested in what 
a man says in a public discourse than we are in the 
man, but when we interview a man we want his 
opinions not for themselves so much as because they 
are his opinions. An interview with the President 
on the tariff is not necessarily interesting in the 
new ideas that it brings out, for we have many 
other ways of knowing the President's opinions on 

175 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

the tariff question ; but the interview is worth print- 
ing because every one is interested in reading any- 
thing that the President says, although he may have 
read the same thing many times before. A man 
is seldom interviewed unless he is of some promi- 
nence — that is why he is interviewed, and so in 
the resulting story his name plays a very important 
part. In fact, his name is usually the feature of 
the story; most interview stories begin directly 
with the name of the man whose statements are 
quoted. 

xAlthough a man may be interviewed simply 
because of his prominence and popularity, there is 
usually another reason for the interview. We are 
interested not only in hearing him say something 
but we wish to hear him say something on a certain 
topic. The interview thus has a timeliness, a reason 
for existence. Since this timeliness is the reason 
for printing a certain man's statements, the re- 
porter's account must indicate that timeliness near 
the beginning. That is, the first sentence of an 
interview story must not only tell who was inter- 
viewed and the gist of what he said, but it must 
tell why he said it. The interview must be connected 
with the rest of the day's news. This comes out 
very definitely in the custom which many news- 
papers have of printing the opinions of many promi- 

176 



INTERVIEWS 

nent men in connection with any important event. 
Perhaps it is because we wish to know their opin- 
ions on the subject or perhaps it is simply because 
we are glad to have a chance to hear them talk — at 
any rate many editors make any great event an ex- 
cuse for a series of interviews. This is illustrated 
by the opinions of the various labor leaders that 
were printed with the story of the recent confession 
of the McNamara brothers. In such a case, the re- 
porter must make the reason for the interview his 
starting point in the report and must indicate very 
plainly why the man was interviewed. 

This idea of timeliness is very often carried to the 
extent of making the interview merely a denial or 
an assertion from the mouth of a well-known man. 
There may be an upheaval in Wall Street. Immedi- 
ately the papers print an interview in which some 
prominent financier denies or asserts that he is at the 
bottom of the upheaval. Naturally the report of the 
interview begins with the very words of the denial or 
the assertion. Very often a man when interviewed 
refuses to say anything on the subject. The fact 
that he has nothing to say does not mean that the 
interview is not worth reporting. In fact, that re- 
fusal to speak may be the most effective thing that 
he could say. The reporter begins by telling that 
his man had nothing to say on the subject and ends 

177 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

by telling what he should have said or what his re- 
fusal to speak probably means, — if the paper is not 
too scrupulous in such matters. At any rate, the 
denial or assertion or refusal to speak becomes the 
starting point of the report and furnishes the ex- 
cuse for the interview story. The expanded remarks 
that follow the lead are of course important but they 
are not so important as the primary expression of 
opinion that the reporter went for. 

The personal element in interviewing may be car- 
ried to an extreme extent. The man who is inter- 
viewed may so far overshadow the importance of 
what he says that the report of the interview be- 
comes almost a sketch of the man himself. That 
is, the report is filled with human interest. The 
quotations are interspersed with action and descrip- 
tion. We are told how the man acted when he said 
each individual thing. His appearance, attitude, ex- 
pression, and surroundings become as important 
as his words and are brought into the report as viv- 
idly as possible. Such an interview may become 
almost large enough to be used as a special feature 
story for the Sunday edition, but when the human 
interest is limited to a comparatively subordinate 
position the report still keeps its character as an 
interview news story. Such a thing may be illus- 
trated from the daily press : 

i 7 8 



INTERVIEWS 

"I would rather have four battleships 
and need only two than to have two and 
need four." 

Seated in the cool library of Colonel 
A. K. McClure's summer home at Wal- 
lingford, Rear Admiral Winfield Scott 
Schley, retired, thus expressed himself 
yesterday on the need of a larger and 
greater navy. 



After all has been said about interviewing, the 
one thing that a reporter must remember is that 
an interview story is at best rather dry and every- 
thing that he can do to increase the interest will 
improve the interview. But all of this must be 
done with absolute fairness to the speaker and great 
truthfulness in the quotation of his ideas and 
opinions. 

To come to the technical form of the interview 
story, we find that there are very nearly as many 
possible beginnings as in the case of the report of 
a speech. The interview story must begin with a 
lead that tells who was interviewed, when, and 
where, what he said (in a quotation or an indirect 
summary), and why he was interviewed. This is 
like the lead of a speech report in every particular 
except in the timeliness — the occasion for a speech 
is seldom mentioned in the lead, but a reporter usu- 
13 179 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

ally tells at once why he interviewed the man whose 
words he quotes. 

1. Speaker Beginning. — The very purpose behind 
interviewing makes the so-called speaker beginning 
most common. It is almost an invariable rule that 
the report of an interview must begin with the 
man's name unless what he says is of greater im- 
portance than his name — which is seldom. 

The simplest form of the speaker beginning is the 
one in which the speaker's name is followed directly 
by a summary of what he said, as : 



Dr. David Starr Jordan, president of 
Leland Stanford Junior University, said 
yesterday at the Holland House that in 
the development of American universi- 
ties educators must separate the lower 
two classes from the upper two, the 
present freshman and sophomore classes 
to be absorbed by small colleges or sup- 
plemental high schools, making the ju- 
nior year the first in the university train- 
ing. He said the universities should re- 
ceive only men, not boys. — New York 
Tribune. 



Another kind of speaker beginning may devote 
most of the lead to the explanation of the reason 
for the interview, giving the briefest possible sum- 
mary of what was said : Thus : 

180 



INTERVIEWS 

Director Lang of the department of 
public safety is going to place a ban on 
the playing of tennis on Sunday. He 
doesn't know just yet how he is going 
to accomplish this, but yesterday he de- 
clared that he would find some law ap- 
plicable to the case. — Pittsburgh Gazette- 
Times. 



One step further brings us to the entire exclusion 
of the result of the interview from the lead. In this 
case the reason for the interview occupies the en- 
tire lead and we must read part of the second para- 
graph to find what the man said ; thus : 

Charles F. Washburn, Richmond 
Hill's wizard of finance, promises to 
appear at his broker's office in Newark, 
N. J., this morning with a fresh bank 
roll, accumulated since the close of the 
market on Saturday. 

(The second paragraph tells what it 
is all about and the third quotes his 
words.) — New York World. 

It is to be noted that in each of the above leads 
the speaker's name is always accompanied by a 
word or two telling who he is and why he was in- 
terviewed. Furthermore the reporter himself has 
no more place in the lead than if he were reporting 
a speech — his existence and the part he played in 
getting the interview are strictly ignored. 

181 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

2. Summary Beginning. — There are two common 
ways of beginning an interview story with a sum- 
mary. First, the lead may begin with a ^a^-clause 
which embodies the gist of the interview; this is 
like the that-clause beginning of the report of a 
speech; thus: 



That the apparent apathy among the 
voters of the country is merely content- 
ment with the present administration of 
affairs by the Republican party is the 
contention of ex-Senator John M. 
Thurston of Nebraska. Mr. Thurston 
was at Republican national headquarters 
today, etc. — New York Evening Post. 



Secondly the summary beginning is used in the 
case of an interview that is a denial or an assertion 
by the man interviewed. The lead begins with a 
clause or a participial phrase embodying the sub- 
stance of the interview, and the name of the speaker 
is made the subject of a verb of denying or assert- 
ing; thus: 



Declaring that his office is run as eco- 
nomically as possible, Sheriff H. E. 
Franke denied on Sunday that he had 
expended more than $688 for auto hire 
to collect $1,409.28 of alleged taxes. 

(The second paragraph begins with a 
direct quotation.) — Milwaukee Sentinel. 

182 



INTERVIEWS 



Although he had sharply criticised 
Roosevelt's special message condemning 
some of the uses to which the posses- 
sors of large fortunes are putting their 
wealth, President Jacob Gould Schur- 
man, Cornell University, declined to dis- 
cuss Roosevelt or his policies in Mil- 
waukee yesterday. He said that he was 
not talking politics. 

(The rest of the report is a quotation 
of his views on college athletics.) — Mil- 
waukee Free Press. 



3. Quotation Beginning. — Many reports of inter- 
views begin with a direct quotation. The logic of 
this is that the expression of opinion is, in some 
cases, of more interest than the name of the man 
who expressed the opinion. Sometimes the name 
of the speaker is not considered worth mentioning 
and in that case a direct quotation is the only ad- 
visable beginning; thus: 

"With the prices of food for hogs 
and cattle going up, it is natural that 
the food — beef and pork — for us humans 
should keep pace." 

This was the logic of an east-side 
butcher who discussed the probable rise 
in the prices of meat. — Milwaukee Free 
Press. 

Sometimes a short quotation is used at the begin- 
ning of the lead very much as a title is used in a 
speech report; thus: 

183 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

NEW YORK, June i.— "A business 
proposition which should have been put 
in effect nearly twenty years ago," was 
John Wanamaker's comment today on 
the adoption of 2-cent letter postage be- 
tween the United States and Great 
Britain and Ireland. — Milwaukee Free 
Press. 



If the quotation at the beginning consists of only 
one sentence the name of the speaker may be run 
into the same paragraph ; thus : 

"Judge McPherson's recent decision 
declaring Missouri's 2-cent fare confis- 
catory is an indication that vested in- 
terests are entitled to some protection 
and that legislatures must not go too far 
in regulating them," said Sir Thomas 
Shaughnessy, president of the Canadian 
Pacific road, on Sunday. — Milwaukee 
Sentinel. 

However if the quotation at the beginning con- 
tains more than one sentence it is best to paragraph 
the quotation separately and leave the name of the 
speaker until the second paragraph; thus: 

"The American Federation of Labor 
will enter the national campaign by 
seeking to place labor candidates on the 
tickets of the old parties. An indepen- 
dent labor party is eventually contem- 
plated. But there is not time to get 

184 



INTERVIEWS 

results in that way in the next national 
campaign." 

So said H. C. Raasch, national presi- 
dent of the tile-layers, upon his return 
yesterday, etc. — Milwaukee Free Press. 

4. Human Interest Beginning. — This is a designa- 
tion devised to cover a multitude of beginnings. A 
human interest interview may begin with a quota- 
tion, a summary, a name, or an action. The aim is 
necessarily toward unconventionality and the form 
of the lead is left to the originality of the reporter. 
A few examples may illustrate what is meant by the 
human interest beginning: 

"There goes another string. Drat 
those strings !" Only Joseph Caluder 
didn't say "Drat." 

"Say, do you know that I have spent 
pretty nearly $1,000 for strings for that 
violin? Well, it's a fact. Listen." Etc. 
— Milwaukee Sentinel. 

Fire Marshal James Horan never 
bought a firecracker, but for many years 
he has celebrated Independence day in 
the thick of fires. He never owned a 
gun or revolver. His last prayer be- 
fore trying to snatch a little needed 
sleep Friday night will be of the twofold 
form, etc. — Chicago Post. 

After what has been said about the body of a 
speech report, there is little more to be said about 

185 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

the body of an interview story. The same rules 
apply in both cases. The body of the report should 
contain as much direct quotation as possible. How- 
ever nothing less than a sentence should be quoted 
— that is, every quotation should be a complete sen- 
tence, with indirect explanation. Whenever "Said 
the speaker" or "Mr. Brown continued" or any sim- 
ilar expression is worked into the direct quotation 
it should always be placed at the end of the sentence ; 
never begin a quotation in this way: — Mr. Jones 
continued, "Furthermore I would say, etc." In 
the same way, when a paragraph contains both di- 
rect and indirect quotation, the direct quotation 
should be placed at the beginning. Whenever it is 
possible, construct solid paragraphs of quotation, 
and solid paragraphs of summary. The report as a 
whole must have coherence and a logical sequence; 
for this a limited amount of indirect quotation may 
be used to fill in the gaps in the logic of the direct 
quotation. 

According to the usage of the best newspapers of 
to-day the reporter must never be brought into the 
report of an interview. His existence must never 
be mentioned although every reader knows that some 
reporter secured the interview. In the old days 
reporters delighted in bringing themselves into their 
stories as "representatives of the press" or "a re- 

186 



INTERVIEWS 

porter for the Dispatch," but that practice has gone 
the way of the reporter's leather-bound notebook. 
The interview may be told satisfactorily without 
a mention of the reporter; hence newspaper usage 
has put a ban on his appearance in his story. 

GROUP INTERVIEWS 

We have said that a man is seldom interviewed 
without a reason ; there is always a timeliness in in- 
terviewing. Any unusual event of broad importance 
becomes an excuse for the editor to print the opin- 
ion of some prominent man on some phase of the 
event. Sometimes the event is of such importance 
that the editor wishes to print the opinions of sev- 
eral men on the subject; or more than one prominent 
man may be involved in the affair and the public 
may wish to hear the opinions of every one involved. 
In such a case when several men are interviewed in 
regard to the same event it is considered rather use- 
less and ineffective to print their interviews sepa- 
rately and the several interview stories are gath- 
ered together into one story and arranged in such 
a way that they may be compared. There are sev- 
eral ways of doing this. 

If the case or event is very well known, a lead or 
summary of the several interviews is considered vm- 

187 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

necessary and the words of the various men are 
grouped together under a single headline. This may 
be illustrated by the interviews that were printed 
after the confessions of the McNamara brothers of 
Los Angeles in the recent dynamiting case. The 
Wisconsin State Journal may be taken as repre- 
sentative. This paper printed the statements of 
twelve prominent men interested in the case in a 
three-column box under a long head ; thus : 

Leaders Discuss the Case 

Samuel Gompers, president American Federation of 
Labor — I am astounded ; I am astounded ; my credul- 
ity has been imposed upon. It is a bolt out of a clear 
sky. 



John T. Smith, president Missouri Federation of La- 
bor — I can not believe it. But if the McNamaras 
blew up the Times building they should be fully pun- 
ished. 



Gen. Harrison Grey Otis, publisher of the Times — 
The result may be and ought to be, etc. 

If the case had not been of such broad interest a 
lead embodying a summary of the interviews might 
have preceded the individual statements. It might 
have been done in this way : 

Great surprise has been expressed by 
the prominent labor leaders of the coun- 
try at the confession of the McNamara 

188 



INTERVIEWS 

brothers in Los Angeles yesterday. That 
organized labor had no connection with 
the work of these men and that they 
should be fully punished is the consen- 
sus of opinion. 

Samuel Gompers, president American 
Federation of Labor — I am astounded; 
I am astounded; my credulity has been 
imposed upon. It is a bolt out of a 
clear sky. 

John T. Smith, president Missouri 
Federation of Labor — I can not believe 
it. Etc. 



In such a story as the above, the statements are usu- 
ally printed without quotation marks; each para- 
graph begins with a man's name, followed by a dash 
and what he said. The grouping together of sev- 
eral interviews is often done less formally. The 
whole thing may be written as a running story, and 
sometimes the names of the persons interviewed 
are omitted ; thus : 

Proprietors of the big flower shops, 
the places from which blossoms are de- 
livered in highly polished and ornate 
wagons, drawn by horses that might 
win blue ribbons, and where, in the 
proper season, a single rose costs three 
dollars, do not approve of the com- 
ments made by a dealer who recently 
failed. Among these sayings was one 
to the effect that young millionaires 
spend a thousand dollars a week on 

189 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



flowers for chorus girls who earn 
twelve dollars a week, and who some- 
times take the flowers back to the shop 
to exchange them for money to buy 
food and clothes. 

"That's all nonsense," said one dealer. 
(This paragraph is devoted to his opin- 
ion on the matter.) 

"We have enough trouble in this busi- 
ness," said another dealer, "without hav- 
ing this silly talk given to the public." 
(This paragraph gives this dealer's 
opinion) — New York Evening Post. 



(Each paragraph is devoted to a single inter- 
view.) 

The same paragraph may be done with more local 
color as in the following: 



Chinatown feels deeply its bereave- 
ment in the deaths of the Empress Dow- 
ager and the Emperor of China. China- 
town mourns, but it does so in such an 
unobtrusive Oriental way that the casual 
visitor on sympathy bent may feel that 
his words of condolence would be mis- 
placed. 

A reporter from this paper was as- 
signed yesterday to go up to Chinatown 
and in as delicate a way as possible to 
gather some of the sentiments of appre- 
ciation of the merits of Kuang-hsu and 
his lamented aunt, Tzu-hsi. He was 
told that he might write a little about 
the picturesque though nevertheless sin- 
cere expressions of mourning that he 

190 



INTERVIEWS 

might observe in Pell and Mott streets. 

Mr. Jaw Gum, senior partner in the 
firm of Jaw Gum & Co., importers of 
cigars, cigarettes, dead duck's eggs and 
Chinese delicatessen, of 7 Pell street, 
was at home. Mr. Gum was approached. 

"We would like to learn a little about 
the arrangements that are being made 
by the Chinese to indicate their sorrow 
at the deaths of their beloved rulers." 

"What number?" queried Mr. Gum. 
The question was repeated. 

"P'licyman, he know," remarked Mr. 
Gum sagely. 

(So on for a column with interviews 
and statements from several of Mr. 
Gum's neighbors.) — New York Sun. 



But this is very much like a human interest story — 
the reporter takes part in it — and we shall discuss 
that later. 



XII 
COURT REPORTING 

Probably few classes of news stories present such 
a lack of uniformity and such a variety of treat- 
ments as the reports of court news. Legal stories 
belong to one of the few sorts of stories that do not 
tend to become systematized. But there is a reason 
for almost everything in a newspaper and there is 
also a reason for the freedom that reporters are 
allowed in reporting testimony. The reason in this 
case is probably in the fact that very rarely do two 
court stories possess the same sort of interest or the 
same news value. 

We have seen that reports of speeches are printed 
in the daily press because our readers are interested 
in the content of the speech or in the man who ut- 
tered it. In the same way, our readers are inter- 
ested in interviews because of the man who was in- 
terviewed, because of their content, or because of 
their bearing on some current event. On the other 
hand there is an infinite number of reasons why a 
court story is worth printing or why it may not be 

192 



COURT REPORTING 

worth a line. Sometimes the interest is in the per- 
sons involved; sometimes in the significance of the 
decision. People may also be interested in a case 
because of its political or legal significance or merely 
because of the sensational testimony that is given. 
And again a very trivial case may be worth a large 
amount of space in the daily paper just because of 
its human interest — because of the pathos or humor 
that the reporter can bring into it. Thus the re- 
sulting reports are hard to classify. Each one de- 
pends on a different factor for its interest and each 
must be written in a different way so that its indi- 
vidual interest may be most effective. However 
there are general tendencies in the reporting of court 
news. 

The news itself is comparatively easy to get. In 
a large city every court is watched every day by a 
representative of the press, either a reporter for an 
individual paper or for a city news gathering asso- 
ciation. In some cities where there is no independ- 
ent news gathering agency papers sometimes club 
together to keep one reporter at each court. The 
man who is on duty must watch all day long for 
cases that are of interest for one reason or an- 
other. Even with all this safeguarding sometimes 
an important case slips by the papers; often the re- 
porter on duty considers of little interest a case that 

193 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

is worth columns when some paper digs into it. 
Every reporter however who is trying to do court 
reporting should learn the ordinary routine of legal 
proceedings ; for example, the place and purpose of 
the pleas, the direct and cross examination of wit- 
nesses, and other legal business. 

As we shall see when we begin to write court re- 
ports, it is necessary to exercise every possible trick 
to put interest into the story. In the actual court 
room all that relieves the dreary monotony of legal 
proceedings is an occasional bit of interesting testi- 
mony. And when the reporter tries to report a case 
he sometimes finds that interesting testimony is all 
that will lighten up the dull monotony of his story. 
Therefore while he is listening to a case he tries to 
get down verbatim a large number of the inter- 
esting questions and answers. Or if he is unable 
to be present he tries to get hold of the court ste- 
nographer's record to copy out bits of testimony for 
his account. Beyond this recording of testimony 
there is really little difficulty in court reporting ex- 
cept the difficulty of separating the interesting from 
the great mass of uninteresting matter. 

As to the actual writing of the report of a legal 
trial, the one thing that the reporter must remember 
is that a case is seldom reported for the public's in- 
terest in the case itself. There is usually some other 

194 



COURT REPORTING 



reason why the editor wants a half a column of it. 
That reason is the thing that the reporter must 
watch for and when he finds it he must make it the 
feature of his report to be embodied in the first line 
of the lead. 

When we try to play up the most interesting fea- 
ture of a court report we find that we must fall 
back upon the same beginnings that we used in re- 
porting speeches and interviews. There are several 
possible ways of beginning such a story, depending 
upon the phase of the case or its testimony that is 
of greatest importance. 

1. Name Beginning. — The proper name beginning 

is very common. It is always used when any one 

of prominence is involved in the story or when the 

name, although unknown, can be made interesting 

in itself — as in a human interest story. The name is 

usually made the subject of the verb testified, as in 

this lead : 

A. F. Law, secretary of the Temple 
Iron Company, a subsidiary company 
of the Reading Coal and Iron Com- 
pany, called before the government in- 
vestigation of the alleged combination 
of coal carrying roads, testified today 
in the Federal building that four roads 
had contributed $488,000 to make up the 
deficit of the Temple company during 
three years of coal strikes. — New York 



Sun. 
14 



195 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

The name of a well-known company often makes a 
good beginning : 

The Standard Oil Company sent a 
sweeping broadside into the Govern- 
ment's case yesterday at the hearing in 
the suit seeking to dissolve the Standard 
Oil Company of New Jersey under the 
Sherman anti-trust law, when witnesses 
began to tell of the character of a num- 
ber of men the Government had placed 
upon the witness stand. — New York 
Times. 

The name of the judge himself may be used in the 
first line : 

Judge Mulqueen of General Sessions 
explained today why he had sentenced 
two prisoners to "go home and serve 
time with the families." This punish- 
ment was imposed yesterday when both 
men pleaded drunkenness as their ex- 
cuse for trivial offenses. — New York 
Evening Post. 

2. Continued Case Beginning. — Many court re- 
ports begin with the name of the case when the case 
has been running for some time and is well known. 
Each individual story on such a case is just a con- 
tinuation of a sort of serial story that has been run- 
ning for some time and in the lead each day the re- 
porter tries to summarize the progress that has been 

196 



COURT REPORTING 

made in the case during the day's hearing. How- 
ever each story, like a follow-up story, is written in 
such a way that a knowledge of previous stories is 
not necessary to a clear understanding : 

The hearing yesterday in the Govern- 
ment's suit to dissolve the Standard 
Oil Company ended with a dramatic in- 
cident. Mr. Kellogg sought to show 
that the Standard compelled a widow, 
Mrs. Jones, of Mobile, Ala., to sell out 
her little oil business at a ruinous sacri- 
fice. — New York World. 

In some cases this sort of a lead begins with the 
mere mention of the continuing of the trial : 

At the opening of the defence today 
in the sugar trials before Judge Martin 
of the United States Circuit Court, 
James F. Bendernagal took the witness 
chair in his own behalf, etc. — New York 
Evening Post. 

3. Summary Beginning. — The lead of a court re- 
port often begins with a brief summary of the result 
of the trial or of the day's hearing : 

What the Government has character- 
ized as "unfair competition and dis- 
crimination'' on the part of the Stand- 
ard Oil Company continued to be the 
subject of the investigation of that cor- 
poration today before Franklin Ferris 
of St. Louis, referee, in the Custom 
House. — New York Evening Post. 

*97 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

The summary may be presented in as formal a way 
as the that-dause beginning which we used in re- 
ports of speeches : 

That the Adams' Express Company's 
business in New England in 1909 yield- 
ed a profit representing 45 per cent, on 
the investment, including real estate 
and, excepting real estate, a net income 
of more than 83 per cent., came out in 
the course of the hearing before the 
Interstate Commerce Commission, etc. — 
New York Evening Post. 

4. Direct Quotation Beginning. — A direct quota- 
tion of some striking statement made by the judge, 
by a lawyer, by a witness, or by any one connected 
with the trial may be used at the beginning of the 
lead. Here is a lead beginning with a quotation 
from the title of a case : 

"Captain Dick and Captain Lewis, In- 
dians, for and on behalf of the Yokayo 
tribe of Indians, vs. F. C. Albertson, T. 
J. Weldon, as administrator of the es- 
tate of Charley, Indian, deceased, Min- 
nehaha, Ollagoola, Hiawatha, Wana- 
hana, Pocahontas, etc." 

So runs the title of as unusual a case 
as jurists, etc. — San Francisco Exam- 
iner, 

5. Human Interest Beginning. — The human inter- 
est beginning is a more or less free beginning which 

198 



COURT REPORTING 



may be used in the reporting of rather insignificant 
cases which are of value only for the human inter- 
est in them. The beginning is capable of almost 
any treatment so long as it brings out the humor, 
beauty, or pathos of the situation. Sometimes the 
story begins with a rather striking summary of the 
unusual things that came out in the testimony, as 
in this case: 



How suddenly and how radically a 
woman can exercise her inalienable pre- 
rogative and change her mind is shown 
in the testamentary disposition made of 
her estate by Mrs. Jennie L. Ramsay. 
She made a will on July 4 last, at 3 
o'clock in the afternoon, leaving her 
property to her husband, and at 7 o'clock 
in the evening of the same day she 
made another will in which she took 
the property away from her husband. — 
New York Times. 



Here is an interesting illustration of the use of a 
trivial incident as the basis for a humorous lead : 

Bang, an English setter dog, accused 
of biting 11-year-old Sophie Kahn, made 
an excellent witness in the City Court 
today when his owner, Hirman L. 
Phelps, a real estate dealer of the 
Bronx, appeared as defendant in a dam- 
age suit brought by the girl for $2,000. 
— New York Evening Post. 
The lead of a report of legal proceedings is very 

199 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

much like the lead of a report of a speech or an 
interview. It always begins with the most interest- 
ing fact in the case and briefly summarizes the re- 
sult of the trial or the day's hearing. It is to be noted 
that the lead of such a story always includes a des- 
ignation of the court in which the hearing was held 
and usually the name of the judge and of the case. 
After the lead is finished a court report usually 
turns into a running story of the evidence as it 
was presented. This may be condensed into a para- 
graph, giving the reader merely the point of the 
day's hearing, or it may be expanded into several 
columns following the testimony more or less closely. 
In form, it is very much like the summary para- 
graphs in the body of a speech report. The result 
is usually more or less dry and reporters often re- 
sort to a means, similar to dialogue in fiction, to 
lighten it up. Some of the more important testi- 
mony is given verbatim interspersed with indirect 
summaries of the longer or less important speeches. 
Its presentation usually follows the ordinary rules 
of dialogue. Here is an extract from such a story: 



After describing himself as a breeder 
of horses, Gideon said that he was a 
member of the Metropolitan Turf Asso- 
ciation, the bookmakers' organization, 
but had never been engaged in book- 
200 



COURT REPORTING 

making. He did not know where "Ed- 
die" Burke, "Tim" Sullivan (not the 
politician), or any of the other missing 
"bookies" could be found. 

"You are a member of the executive 
committee of the Metropolitan Turf 
Association?" asked Isidor J. Kresel, 
assistant counsel of the committee. 

"Yes." 

"Now, what did your committee do 
in 1908, when the anti-race track legis- 
lation was pending?" 

"I don't know." 

# # * * 

"How much did you pay in 1908?" 

"Two hundred and fifty dollars." 

"To whom?" 

"Mr. Sullivan." 

"What for?" 

"Death assessments." 

Gideon said that the little he knew of 
the doings of the "Mets" was from con- 
versation with the bookies. Etc., etc. — 
New York Evening Post. 

Sometimes this direct testimony is given, not in the 
dialogue form, but as questions and answers. Thus : 



In reply to other questions, Bender- 
nagel said he ordered the office supplies, 
looked after the insurance on the sugar, 
and was responsible for the fuel, some 
700 tons of coal a day. 

Question. — How much money was 
paid through your office in the course 
of a year? Answer. — Four million dol- 
lars. 

201 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



Q. — So yours was a busy office? A. — 
Exceedingly so. 

Q. — How long were the raw sugar 
clerks in your office? A. — About twenty 
years. Etc., etc. — New York Evening 
Post 

Some papers would arrange these questions and an- 
swers differently, paragraphing each speech sepa- 
rately as in dialogue : 

Question. — Did you regulate their du- 
ties in any way? 

Answer. — No. 

Q. — Were you connected with the 
docks? 

A. — No; that was a separate depart- 
ment. It had its own forces, and they 
worked under Mr. Spitzer. He had en- 
tire charge. Etc., etc. 

The court records take cognizance only of the actual 
words uttered in the testimony, but a newspaper re- 
porter never fails to record any action or movement 
that indicates something beyond the words. Very 
often action is brought in merely for its human in- 
terest ; thus : 



"How long has it been since you have 
had a maid?" asked Mr. Shearn sadly. 

"Not for some time/' she said. "Away 
back in 1907, I think." 

"What did it cost you for two rooms 
and bath at the Hotel Belmont, where 
you lived last year?" 

202 



COURT REPORTING 

"About $300 a week altogether. The 
rooms cost $20 a day." 

There were tears in her eyes when 
she explained that she could no longer 
afford to keep up her own automobile. 
Etc., etc. — Milwaukee Free Press. 



This sort of dialogue is dangerous and may easily 
be overworked, but it is very often extremely ef- 
fective. One word like "sadly," above, may convey 
more meaning than many lines of explanation. 

These quotations are usually interspersed with 
paragraphs which summarize the unimportant inter- 
vening testimony. The running story attempts to 
follow the progress of the hearing in greater or less 
detail, depending upon the space given to the story, 
just as a speech report attempts to follow a public 
discourse. Dry and unimportant facts are briefly 
summarized, interesting parts of the testimony are 
quoted in full. The running story is usually writ- 
ten while the hearing is in session or taken from a 
stenographic report of the hearing. After the run- 
ning story has been completed, the reporter pre- 
pares a lead for the beginning to summarize the 
results or to play up the most significant part of 
the story. If the running story is short a lead of 
one paragraph is sufficient, but if it is long, the 
lead may be expanded into several paragraphs. 

203 



XIII 

SOCIAL NEWS AND OBITUARIES 

The study of newspaper treatment of social news 
is a broad one. Every newspaper has its own sys- 
tem of handling social news and the general ten- 
dencies that are to be noted deal rather with the 
facts that are printed than with the manner of 
treatment. Every newspaper gives practically the 
same facts about a wedding but each individual news- 
paper has a method of its own of writing up those 
facts. One thing that is always true of social news 
reporting is that the amount of space given to social 
items varies inversely with the importance of the 
newspaper and the size of the city in which it is 
printed. A little country weekly or semi-weekly 
in a small town does not hesitate to run two columns 
or more on Sadie Smith's wedding. The report 
runs into minute details and anecdotes that all of 
the "Weekly's" readers know before the paper ar- 
rives. But the editor prints everything he can find 
or invent simply because all of his readers are more 

204 



SOCIAL NEWS AND OBITUARIES 

or less personally connected with the affair and are 
anxious to see their names in print and to read 
about themselves. The liberty that such an editor 
gives himself is of course impossible in a larger 
paper. 

On the other hand, a daily in a city of average 
size would reduce such a story to a stickful and a 
metropolitan daily would run only a one-line an- 
nouncement in the "List of marriages," unless the 
story was especially interesting. The same thing 
applies to all social stories. Some metropolitan 
newspapers do not run social news at all. 

All of this is true because social news is gov- 
erned by the same principles that regulate all news 
values. Unless a society event has some feature 
that is interesting impersonally — that is, of interest 
to readers who do not know the principals of the 
event — it is of value only as a larger or smaller num- 
ber of the paper's readers are personally connected 
with the event. Hence in a small town where every 
one knows every one else, society news is of great 
value. In a large city a very small proportion of 
the readers are connected with the social items that 
the paper has to print and are therefore not inter- 
ested in them — accordingly the newspaper either 
cuts them down to a minimum of space or does not 
run them at all. 

205 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Therefore in our study society news falls into two 
classes: social items that are of interest only in 
themselves to persons connected with the events; 
and big society stories or unusual social events that 
are of interest to readers who are not acquainted 
with the principals. 

1. Weddings. — The wedding story reduced to its 

lowest terms in a metropolitan paper consists of a 

one-line announcement in the list of "Marriages" 

or "Marriage Licenses" ; thus : 

SMITH-JONES— Feb. 14, Katherine 
Jones to Charles C. Smith.— New York 
Times. 

If the paper runs a few columns of social news 
and the persons concerned in the wedding are of any 
importance socially, the wedding may be given a 
stickful. Such an account would confine itself en- 
tirely to names and facts and would be characterized 
by very decided simplicity and brevity. Usually 
nothing more would be given than the names and 
address of the bride's parents, the bride's first name, 
the groom's name, the place, and the name of the 
minister who officiated. Occasionally the name of 
the best man and a few other details are added, but 
never does the story become personal. It is inter- 
esting only to those who know or know of the per- 
sons concerned. 

206 



SOCIAL NEWS AND OBITUARIES 
For example : 



SMITH- JONES 

The marriage of Miss Katherine M. 
Jones, elder daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
Randolph Jones, 253 Ninth street, and 
Charles C. Smith was celebrated at 4 
o'clock yesterday afternoon at the First 
Methodist Church, 736 Grand avenue. 
Rev. William Brown, rector of the 
church, performed the ceremony. 



It will be noted that in the above story the name of 
the bride is written out in full, "Miss Katherine M. 
Jones." Many newspapers, however, would simply 
give her first name, thus : Katherine, elder daugh- 
ter of Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Jones. " 

If the above wedding were of greater importance 
more details might be given. These would include 
the attendants, descriptions of the gowns of the 
bride and her attendants, the guests from out of 
town, music, decorations, the reception, and perhaps 
some of the presents. Sometimes the wedding trip 
and an announcement of when and where the couple 
will be at home are added. The above story might 
run on into detail something like this : 



Miss Jones, who was given in mar- 
riage by her father, wore a white satin 
gown trimmed with Venetian point lace, 
and her point lace veil, a family heir- 
loom, was caught with orange blossoms. 

207 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



She carried a bouquet of white sweet 
peas and lilies of the valley. Miss Do- 
rothy Jones, a sister of the bride, who 
was maid of honor, wore a gown of 
green chiffon over satin, with lingerie 
hat, and carried sweet peas. Douglas 
Jackson was the best man and the 
ushers were Dr. John B. Smith, Samuel 
Smith, Gordon Hunt, Rodney Dexter, 
Norris Kenny, and Arthur Johnston. A 
reception followed the ceremony at the 
home of the bride's parents. 



This is probably as long a story as any average 
paper would run on any wedding, unless the wed- 
ding had some striking feature that would make the 
story of interest to readers who did not know the 
principals. Note in the foregoing story the sim- 
plicity and impersonal tone. There is a wealth of 
facts but there is no coloring. This tone should 
characterize every society story. A list of out-of- 
town guests might have been added, but as often 
that would be omitted. In some cases the last sen- 
tence might be followed by an announcement like 
this: 

The bride and bridegroom have gone 
on a wedding tour of the West ; after 
April i they will be at home at 76 Kim- 
bark avenue. 

In this connection the young reporter should note 
the distinctions in meaning of the various words 

208 



SOCIAL NEWS AND OBITUARIES 

used in a wedding story. For instance, he should 
consult the dictionary for the exact use of the verbs 
"to marry" and "to wed" — he should know who "is 
married," who "is married to," and who "is given 
in marriage," etc. He should also know the differ- 
ence between a "marriage" and a "wedding." 

2. Wedding Announcements. — Wedding announce- 
ments are run in the social columns of many papers. 
These items contain practically the same facts that 
we find in the story written after the wedding, ex- 
cept, of course, that the reporter cannot dilate on 
decorations, and must stick to facts. These facts 
usually consist of the names of the couple, the names 
of the bride's parents, and the time and the place of 
the wedding. Additionally the reporter may give 
the minister's name, the names of the maid of honor 
and of the best man, the reception or breakfast to 
follow, and where the couple will be at home. 



The wedding of Miss Gladys Jones 
and Richard Smith will take place on 
Wednesday evening in All Angels' 
Church The bride is a daughter of 
Mrs. Charles Jones, who will give a 
bridal supper and reception afterward at 
her home. 

There are of course many other ways to begin 
the announcement. "Miss Mary E. MacGuire, 

209 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

daughter of, etc."; 'Invitations have been issued for 
the wedding of Miss, etc."; "One of the weddings 
on for Tuesday is that of Miss, etc."; "Cards are 
out for the wedding on Saturday of Miss, etc."; and 
many others. In each case the bride's name has the 
place of importance. 

3. Announcements of Engagements. — Announce- 
ments of engagements are usually even briefer than 
wedding announcements. The item consists merely 
of one sentence in which the young lady's mother 
or parents make the announcement with the name 
of the prospective groom. 

Mrs. Russell D. Jones of 45 Ninth 
street announces the engagement of her 
daughter, Natalie, to John MacBaine 
Smith. 

The item may also begin "Mr. and Mrs. X. X. So- 
and-So announce, etc.," or simply "Announcement 
is made of the engagement of Miss Stella Blank, 
daughter of, etc." 

4. Receptions and Other Entertainments. — If a pa- 
per is to keep up in society news, it must report many 
social entertainments. However, such events are 
treated by large dailies as simply, briefly, and im- 
personally as possible. Such a story, like the report 
of a wedding, consists merely of certain usual facts. 
The name of the host or hostess, the place, the time, 

210 



SOCIAL NEWS AND OBITUARIES 



and the special entertainments are of course always 
included. Sometimes the occasion for the event, 
the guests of honor, and a description of the decora- 
tions are added, — also the names of those who as- 
sisted the hostess. 



Mrs. James Harris Jones gave a re- 
ception yesterday at her home, 136 Fifth 
street, for her daughter, Miss Dorothy 
Jones. In the receiving line were Miss 
Marjorie Smith, Miss, etc. * * The recep- 
tion was followed by an informal dance. 



If the event is held especially for debutantes, the 
fact is noted at the very start. "A number of debu- 
tantes assisted in receiving at a tea given by, etc." ; 
"The debutantes of the winter were out in force, 
etc." 

Such a story is usually followed by a list of guests, 
a list of out-of-town guests, a list of subscribers, 
or something of the sort. Ordinarily the list is not 
tabulated but is run in solid, thus : 

The guests were : Miss Kathleen 
Smith, Miss Georgia Brown, etc. 

Very often the names are grouped together, thus : 

The guests were: The Misses Kath- 
leen Smith, Georgia Brown; Mesdames 
Robert R. Green, John R. Jones ; and the 
Messrs. George Hamilton, Francis 
Bragg, etc. 

15 211 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

The number of variations in such stories is lim- 
ited only by the ingenuity of the people who are giv- 
ing such entertainments. But in each case the re- 
porter learns to give the same facts in much the 
same order. And he gives them in an uncolored, im- 
personal way that makes the items interesting only 
to those who are directly connected with them. The 
story may vary from a single sentence to half a 
column, but it always begins in the same way and 
elaborates only the same details. Before trying to 
write up social entertainments, a reporter should 
always be sure of the use of the various words he 
employs — "chaperon/' "patroness," etc. For in- 
stance, can we say that "Mr. and Mrs. Smith acted 
as chaperons"? 

5. Social Announcements. — Social announcements 
of any kind are usually, like the wedding and en- 
gagement announcements, confined to a single sen- 
tence. They tell only the name of the host and 
hostess, the name of the guest of honor or the occa- 
sion for the event, the time, and the place. Thus: 

Mrs. Charles P. Jones will give a 
dance this evening at her home, 181 
Nineteenth street, to introduce her sis- 
ter, Miss Elsie Holt. 

A study of the foregoing sections on society sto- 
ries shows how definitely a reporter is restricted in 

212 



SOCIAL NEWS AND OBITUARIES 

the facts that he may include in his social items — 
how conventional social stories have become. This 
very restraint in the matter of facts makes it the 
more necessary for a reporter to exercise his origi- 
nality in the diction of social items. He must guard 
against the use of certain set expressions, like "offi- 
ciating," "performed the ceremony," and "sol- 
emnized." While restricted in the facts that he may 
give, he must try to present the same old facts in 
new and interesting ways — he may even resort to 
a moderate use of "fine writing," if he does not be- 
come florid or frivolous. 

6. Unusual Social Stories. — Just as soon as any of 
these stories contains a feature that is of interest 
to the general public in an impersonal way it leaves 
the general class of social news and becomes a news 
story to be written with the usual lead. Even the 
presence of a very prominent name will make a 
news story out of a social item. For instance, the 
wedding of Miss Ethel Barrymore was written by 
many papers as a news story. Ori the other hand, 
an unusual marriage, an unusual elopement, or any- 
thing unusual and interesting in a wedding gives 
occasion for a news story. Here is one : 



Because their 15-year-old daughter, 
Sarah, married a man other than the 
one they had chosen, who is wealthy, 

213 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Mr. and Mrs. Markovits of 3128 Cedar 
street have gone into deep mourning, 
draped their home in crepe and an- 
nounced to their friends that Sarah is 
dead. — Philadelphia Ledger. 



Or the story may be handled in a more humorous 
way, thus: 

There is really no objection to him, 
and she is quite a nice young woman, 
but to be married so young, and to go 
on a wedding journey with $18 in their 
purses — but Wallace Jones, student of 
the Western University, and Ruth 
Smith, student in the McKinley High 
School, decided it was too long a time 
to wait, and a nice old pastor gentleman 
in St. Joe has made them one. — Milwau- 
kee Free Press. 

7. Obituaries — Like many other classes of news- 
paper stories, the obituary has developed a conven- 
tional form which is followed more or less rigidly 
by all the papers of the land. Every obituary fol- 
lows the same order and tells the same sort of facts 
about its subject. It begins with a brief account of 
the deceased man's death, runs on through a very 
condensed account of the professional side of his 
life and ends with the announcement of his funeral 
or a list of his surviving relatives. 

The lead is concerned only with his death, answer- 

214 



SOCIAL NEWS AND OBITUARIES 

ing the usual questions about where, how, and why, 
and is written to stand alone if necessary. It or- 
dinarily begins with the man's full name, because 
of course the name is the most important thing in 
the story, and then tells who he was and where he 
lived. This is followed, perhaps in the same sen- 
tence, by the time of his death, the cause, and per- 
haps the circumstances. Thus : 

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Nov. 25.— Dr. 
John H. Blank, professor of Greek at 
Harvard since 1887 and dean of the 
Graduate School since 1895, died at his 
home in Quincy street today from heart 
trouble. Professor Blank was an au- 
thority on classical subjects,— New 
York Tribune. 

This, as you see, might stand alone and be com- 
plete in itself. Many obituaries, however, add an- 
other paragraph after the lead in which the circum- 
stances of the death are discussed in greater detail. 
Here is the second paragraph of another obituary: 

At 8:30 tonight Mr. Blank was walk- 
ing with his wife on the veranda of the 
Delmonte Hotel, when he suddenly 
gasped as if in great pain and fell to 
the floor. He was carried inside, but 
was dead before the physicians reached 
his bedside. Apoplexy is said to have 
been the cause. 

215 



.... 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



Next comes the account of the deceased man's 
life. It is told very briefly and impersonally and 
concerns itself chiefly with the events of his busi- 
ness or professional activities. It is but a catalogue 
of his achievements and the dates of those achieve- 
ments. These facts are usually obtained from the 
file of biographies — called the morgue — which most 
newspapers keep. The account first tells when and 
where he was born and perhaps who his parents 
were. Next his education is briefly discussed. Then 
the chief events of his professional or business life. 
The date of his marriage and the maiden name of 
his wife are included somewhere in or at the end 
of this account. Usually a list of the organizations 
of which the man was a member and a list of the 
books which he had written are attached to this ac- 
count. One of the foregoing obituaries continues as 
follows : 



He was born in Urumiah, Persia, on 
February 4, 1852, being the son of the 
Rev. Austin H. Blank, a missionary. 
He was graduated from Dartmouth in 
1873, and that college awarded him the 
degrees of A. M. in 1876 and LL.D. in 
1901. From 1876 to 1878 he studied at 
Leipzig University. He was assistant 
professor of ancient languages at the 
Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical Col- 
lege from 1873 to 1876, associate pro- 
fessor of Greek at Dartmouth from 



2l6 



SOCIAL NEWS AND OBITUARIES 

1878 to 1880, and dean of the collegiate 
board and professor of classical phil- 
ology at Johns Hopkins in 1886 and 
1887. In 1906 and 1907 he served as 
professor in the American School of 
Classical Studies in Athens. 

(Then follows a list of the organiza- 
tions of which he was a member and 
the periodicals with which he was con- 
nected.) 

He married Miss Mary Blank, daugh- 
ter of the president of Blank College, 
in 1879, and she survives him. — New 
York Tribune. 

The obituary usually ends with a list of surviving 
relatives — especially children and very often the 
funeral arrangements are included. This is the last 
paragraph of another obituary : 

His first wife, Mary V. Blank, died 
in 1872. Three years later he married 
Mrs. Sarah A. Blank, of Hightstown, 
N. J., who with four daughters, sur- 
vives him. The funeral will be held 
tomorrow at 11 '.30 o'clock. The burial 
will be in the family plot in Green- 
wood Cemetery. 

This is the standard form of the obituary which 
is followed by most daily newspapers in fair-sized 
cities. The form is characterized by an extreme con- 
ciseness and brevity and an absolutely impersonal 
tone. Very rightly, an obituary is handled with a 

217 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



sense of the sanctified character of its subject. It 
offers no opportunity for fine writing or human in- 
terest; it simply gives the facts as briefly and im- 
personally as possible. 



XIV 

SPORTING NEWS 

Division of labor on the larger American news- 
papers has made the reporting of athletic and sport- 
ing events into a separate department under a sepa- 
rate editor. The pink or green sporting sheets of 
the big papers have become separate little news- 
papers in themselves handled by a sporting editor 
and his staff and entirely devoted to athletic news, 
except when padded out with left-over stories from 
other pages. Although on smaller papers any re- 
porter may be called upon to cover an athletic event, 
in the cities such news is handled entirely by experts 
who are thoroughly acquainted with all phases of 
the athletic sports about which they write. The 
stories on the pink sheet enjoy the greatest uncon- 
ventionally of form to be seen anywhere in the 
paper except on the editorial page. And yet, be- 
cause athletic reporters are usually men taken from 
regular reporting and because the same ideas and 
necessities of news values govern the sporting pages, 

219 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

athletic stories follow, in general, the usual news 
story form. 

One may expect to find under the head of sports 
almost any news that is any way connected with col- 
lege, amateur, or professional athletics. The stories 
include accounts of baseball and football games, row- 
ing, horse racing, track meets, boxing, and many 
other forms of sport, as well as any discussions or 
movements growing out of these sports. Many of 
the stories are only a few lines in length while others 
may cover a column or more. But in general each 
one has a lead which answers the questions when? 
where? how? who? and why? and runs along much 
like an ordinary news story. For, after all, even 
athletic stories are written to attract and to hold 
the reader's interest whether or not he is directly 
interested in the sport under discussion. Any re- 
porter who is called upon to cover an athletic event 
is safe in writing his story in the usual news story 
form. 

As it would be impossible to discuss all the various 
stories that come under the head of athletic news, 
the reporting of college football games will be taken 
as typical of the others. The rules that are sug- 
gested for the reporting of football games may be 
applied to baseball games, track meets, and other 
sporting events. The same principles govern all 

220 



SPORTING NEWS 

of them and the stories usually summarize results 
in about the same way. Football stories may be 
divided into three general classes : the brief sum- 
mary story of a stickful or a trifle more; the 
usual football story of a half column or less; and 
the long story that may be run through a column 
or more, depending upon the importance of the 
game. 

All three of these stories are alike in the 
general facts which they contain; they differ only 
in the number of minor details which they include 
in the elaboration of these general facts. Each one 
tells in the first sentence what teams were competing, 
the final score, when and where the game was played, 
and perhaps some striking feature of the game — the 
weather, the conditions of the field, the star players, 
or a sensational score. After that, with more or less 
expansion, each of the stories gives the essential 
things that the reader wants to know about the 
game. These consist usually of the way in which the 
scoring was done, a comparison of the playing of the 
teams, a list of the star players, the weather con- 
ditions, and the crowd. If the writing of the story 
includes a discussion of each of these points in more 
or less detail, the game will be covered in all of its 
essential phases. The three kinds of stories differ 
from one another, not in the facts that they include, 

221 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

but in the length at which they expand upon these 
facts. One rule should be noted in the writing of all 
these stories or of any athletic story — avoid superla- 
tives. To a green reporter almost every game seems 
to be "the most spectacular," "the most thrilling," 
"the hardest fought," "the most closely matched," 
but a broad experience is necessary to defend the 
use of any superlative about the game. 

1. The Brief Summary Story. — This is the little 
story of a stickful or less, which merely announces 
the result of some distant or unimportant game. 
Taken in its shortest form it gives only the names 
of the teams, the score, the time and place of the 
game, and perhaps a word or two of general charac- 
terization. As it is allowed to expand in length it 
takes up as briefly as possible the following facts 
in the order in which they are given : the scoring, 
the comparison of play, the star players or plays. 
It is a mere announcement of the result of the game 
and no more, for that is all the reader wants. The 
line-ups and other tables are usually omitted, and 
nothing is included that goes beyond this narrow 
purpose. Here are a few examples: 

IOWA CITY, la., Nov. 25.— Sensa- 
tional end runs by McGinnis and Curry 
near the end of the final quarter of 
play gave Iowa a 6-to-o victory over 
Northwestern here this afternoon. 

222 



SPORTING NEWS 



Fort Atkinson High School defeated 
Madison High today in the final mo- 
ments of play when a punt by Davy, 
fullback for Madison, was blocked and 
the ball recovered behind the line, giv- 
ing Fort Atkinson the game, 2 to o. 

INDIANAPOLIS, June 3.— Indianap- 
olis started its at-home series today by 
defeating Kansas City, 3 to 2. Robert- 
son was in fine form, striking out five 
men, permitting no one to walk and 
allowing only six hits. Score: (Ta- 
bles.) 

LAFAYETTE, Ind., June 1.— With 
the score 41 1-3 points, athletes repre- 
senting the University of California won 
the twelfth annual meet of the West- 
ern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference 
Association today. 

Missouri was second with 29 1-3 
points, Illinois third with 26, Chicago 
fourth with 15 and Wisconsin fifth with 
12 1-2. 



2. The Usual Football Story — The usual report 
of a game is a story of a half column or less which 
is longer than the brief summary story and not so 
detailed as the long football story. This is the story 
that a correspondent would usually send to his paper. 
It is like them both in the facts that it includes and 
differs only in length and in manner of treatment. 
This story is usually divided into two parts : the 
introduction and the running account. The intro- 

223 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

duction, or lead, is very much like the brief sum- 
mary story; in fact, the entire brief summary story 
might be used as the introduction of a story of this 
type. The second part, the running account, cor- 
responds to the running account of the game as it 
will be taken up with the long football story. 

The introduction of the usual athletic story 
always contains certain facts. The first sentence, 
corresponding to the lead of a news story, always 
gives the names of the teams, the score, the time, 
the place, and the most striking feature of the game. 
After this the plays that resulted in scores are de- 
scribed and the star plays or players are enumerated. 
Usually a comparison of the two teams, as to weight, 
speed, and playing, follows, and the opinion of the 
captain or of some coach may be included. The rest 
of the introduction may be devoted to the pictur- 
esque side of the game : the crowd, the cheering, the 
celebration, etc. All of this must be told briefly in 
200 words or less. The introduction is simply the 
brief summary story slightly expanded. Here is a 
fair example (the paragraph containing the scoring 
has been omitted) : 



Purdue triumphed over Indiana to- 
day, 12 to 5, recording the first victory 
for the Boilermakers over the Crimson 
in five years. 

224 



SPORTING NEWS 



(Omitted paragraph on scoring be- 
longs here.) 

Purdue played a great game at all 
times. Oliphant, right half-back on the 
Boilermaker eleven, played remarkably 
well and was the hardest man for the 
locals to handle. Baugh, Miller, Wins- 
ton and Capt. Tavey also starred for 
Coach Hoit's men. 

The Lafayette rooters, 1,500 strong, 
rushed on the field at the close of the 
struggle and carried their players off 
the field. 



This is ordinarily followed by a brief running 
account of the game. It does not attempt to follow 
every play or to trace the course of the ball through- 
out the entire game, as a complete running account 
would do. It is usually made from the detailed run- 
ning account by a process of elimination so that 
nothing but the "high spots'' of the game is left. 
Such an account may run from 200 to 300 words in 
length. At the end tables are usually printed to 
give the line-up and the tabulated results of the 
game, but these may sometimes be omitted. The 
following is an extract from a condensed running 
account : 

Again the cadets fought their way 
to the 10-yard line, runs by Rose and 
Patterson helping materially, but again 
Wayland held. The half ended after 
Wayland had kicked out of danger. 

225 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

In the second half St, John's out- 
played Wayland throughout. The ca- 
dets by a succession of line plunges 
took the ball within striking distance 
several times, only to be held for downs 
or lose it on a fumble. 

Patterson electrified the crowd just 
before the third quarter ended by twice 
dodging through for 20-yard runs, plac- 
ing the ball on the 15-yard line, where 
the cadets were held for downs. 



3. Long Football Story.— The third class of foot- 
ball story is the long detailed account. This is all 
that is left of the elaborate write-ups of the season's 
big games that were printed a few years ago and 
may be seen occasionally now. Ten or twenty years 
ago it was not unusual for an editor to run several 
pages, profusely illustrated, on a big eastern foot- 
ball game. The story was written up from every 
possible aspect — athletic, social, picturesque, etc. 
Every play was described in detail and sometimes 
a graphic diagram of the play was inserted. Each 
phase was handled by a different reporter and the 
whole thing was given a prominence in the paper 
out of all proportion with its real importance. Such 
a treatment of athletic news has now been very 
largely discarded. 

The outgrowth of this elaborate treatment is the 
common one- or two-column account in the pink or 

226 



SPORTING NEWS 

green sporting pages. All of the various aspects 
of the big game are still to be seen, condensed to 
the smallest amount of space ; and this brief account 
of the different aspects of the game is arranged as 
an introduction of a half column or less to head the 
running account of the game. This is the sort of 
story that is used to report the Yale-Harvard games 
and the more important middle western games. Its 
form has become very definitely settled and a cor- 
respondent can almost write his story of the big 
game by rule. 

The first part of the story, called the introduction, 
consists of five or six general paragraphs. The ma- 
terial in this introduction is arranged, paragraph by 
paragraph, in the order of its importance. Follow- 
ing this is a running account of the game which 
may occupy a column or more, depending upon the 
importance of the contest. At the end is a table 
showing the line-up and a summary of the results. 

The introduction of the big football or baseball 
story usually follows a very definite order. There 
are certain things which it must always contain: 
the result of the game; how the scoring was done; 
a characterization of the playing ; the stars ; the con- 
dition of the weather and the field ; the crowd ; etc. 
The reader always wishes to know these things 
about the game even if he does not care to read the 
16 22.7 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



running account. It is equally evident that the 
scoring is of greater interest than the crowd, and 
that a comparison of the teams is more important 
than the cheering. And so a reporter may almost 
follow a stereotyped outline in writing his account. 
A possible outline would be something like this : 

First Paragraph. — The names of the teams, the 
score, when and where the game was played, and 
perhaps some striking feature of the game. The 
weather may have been a significant factor, or 
the condition of the field; the crowd may have 
been exceptionally large or small, enthusiastic or 
uninterested; or the game may have decided a 
championship ; some star may have been unusually 
prominent, or the scoring may have been done 
in an extraordinary way. Any of these factors, 
if of sufficient significance, would be played up in 
the first line just as the feature of an ordinary 
news story is played up. This paragraph corre- 
sponds to the lead of a news story and is so 
written. For example : 

Playing ankle-deep in mud before a 
wildly enthusiastic gathering of foot- 
ball rooters, the gridiron warriors of 
Siwash College defeated the Tigers this 
afternoon on Siwash athletic field by the 
score of 5 to o. 

Second Paragraph. — Here the reporter usually tells 
how the scoring was done, what players made 
the scores, and how. 

228 



SPORTING NEWS 

Third Paragraph. — The next thing of importance 
is a comparison of the two teams. The reader 
wants to know how they compared in weight, 
speed, and skill, and how each one rose to the 
fight. A general characterization of the playing 
or a criticism may not be out of place here. 

Fourth Paragraph. — Now we are ready to tell about 
the individual players. Our readers want to know 
who the stars were and how they starred. 

Fifth Paragraph. — This brings us down near the 
tag end of the introduction. Very often this 
paragraph is devoted to the opinions of the cap- 
tains and coaches on the game. Their state- 
ments, if significant, may be boxed and run any- 
where in the report. 

Sixth Paragraph. — The picturesque and social side 
of the game comes in here. The size of the crowd, 
the enthusiasm, the celebration between halves 
or before or after the game, are usually told. 
This material may be of enough importance to 
occupy several paragraphs, but the reporter must 
always remember that he is writing a sporting 
account and not a picturesque description of a 
social event. 

Seventh Paragraph. — This paragraph usually be- 
gins the running account of the game. 

N-th Paragraph. — This space at the end of the 
entire report is given to the line-ups and tabu- 
lated results of the game. 

229 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

This arrangement may of course be varied, and 
any of the foregoing factors of the game may be 
of sufficient importance to be placed earlier in the 
story. Never, however, should the various factors 
be mixed together heterogeneously and written in 
a confused mass. Each element must be taken up 
separately and occupy a paragraph by itself. 

The running account of the game, which follows 
the introduction, requires little rhetorical skill. 
Each play is described in its proper place and order 
and should be so clear that a reader could make a 
diagram of the game from it. It must also be accu- 
rate in names and distances as well as in plays. 

Probably every individual sporting correspondent 
has a different way of distinguishing the players 
and the plays and of writing his running account. 
It is not an easy matter to watch a game from the 
press stand far up in the bleachers and be able to 
tell who has the ball in each play and how many 
yards were gained or lost. Familiarity with the teams 
and the individual players makes the task easier 
but few reporters are so favored by circumstances. 
They must get the names from the cheering or from 
other reporters about them unless they have some 
method of their own. 

There is one method that may be followed with 
some success. Before the game the reporter equips 

230" 



SPORTING NEWS 

himself with a table of the players showing them 
in their respective places as the two teams line up. 
It is usually impossible to tell who has the ball dur- 
ing any single play because the eye cannot follow 
the rapid passing, but it is always possible to tell 
who has the ball when it is downed. At the end of 
each play as the players line up, the reporter keeps 
his eye on the man who had the ball when it was 
downed and watches to see the position he takes 
in the new line-up. Then a glance at the table will 
tell him the man's name. 

The running account is written as simply and 
briefly as possible. It follows each play, telling 
what play was made, who had the ball, and what the 
result was. It keeps a record of all the time taken 
out, the changes in players, the injuries, etc. A 
typical running account reads something like this: 



Siwash advanced the ball two yards 
by a line plunge. Kelley carried the ball 
around left end for five yards to the 
Tigers' 50-yard line. The Tigers gained 
the ball on a fumble after a fake punt 
and lined up on their own 45-yard line. 
Time called. Score at end of first half, 
o to o. 



At the end of the running account are tables, usu- 
ally set in smaller type, giving the line-up of the 

231 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



two teams and the tabulated results of the game. 
Some papers arrange the tables as follows : 



Siwash: 



Tigers: 



Smith left end Jones 

Brown left tackle Green-Wood 

McCarthy left guard Connor 

Hall (Capt.) centre Jacobs 

Etc. 

Other papers use this system which brings the op- 
posing players together : 



Siwash: 

1. e Smith : 

1. 1 Brown : 

1. g McCarthy ; 

c (Capt.) Hall 

, Etc. 



Tigers: 

Williams r. e. 

Jackson r. t- 

Cook (Capt.) r. g. 

Jacobs c. 



The tabulated results at the end may be something 
like this : 



Score by periods: 

Tigers o 2 i 3 — 6 

Siwash o o o o — o 

Touchdown — Brown. Goal from touchdown — 
O'Brien. Umpire — Enslley, Purdue. Referee — Holt, 
Lehigh. Field judge — Hackensaa, Chicago. Head 
linesman — Seymour, Delaware. Time of periods — fif- 
teen minutes. 



Dispatches and stories on baseball games and track 
meets are usually accompanied by tables of results, 
similar to the above but arranged in a slightly dif- 
ferent way. The form may be learned from any 
reputable sporting sheet. 



XV 

HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

In our study of newspaper writing up to this 
point we have been entirely concerned with forms, 
rules, and formulas; every kind of stary which we 
have studied has had a definite form which we have 
been charged to follow. We have been commanded 
always to put the gist of the story in the first sen- 
tence and to answer the reader's customary questions 
in the same breath. Now we have come to a class 
of newspaper stories in which we are given absolute 
freedom from conventional formulas. In fact, the 
human interest story is different from other news- 
paper stories largely because of its lack of forms 
and rules. It does not begin with the gist of its 
news — -perhaps because it rarely has any real news — 
and it answers no customary questions in the first 
paragraph; its method is the natural order of nar- 
rative. The human interest story stands alone as 
the only literary attempt in the entire newspaper 
and, as such, a discussion of it can hardly tell more 

233 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

than what it is, without any great attempt to tell 
how to write it. For our purposes, the distinguish- 
ing marks of the human interest story are its lack 
of real news value and of conventional form, and 
its appeal to human emotions. 

The human interest story has grown out of a 
number of causes. Up to a very recent time news- 
papers have been content with printing news in its 
barest possible form — facts and nothing but facts. 
Their appeal has been only to the brain. But grad- 
ually editors have come to realize that, if many 
monthly magazines can exist on a diet of fiction 
that appeals only to the emotions, a newspaper may 
well make use of some of the material for true 
stories of emotion that comes to its office. They 
have realized that newsiness is not the only essential, 
that a story does not always have to possess true 
news value to be worth printing — it may be inter- 
esting because it appeals to the reader's sympathy 
or simply because it entertains him. Hence they 
began to print stories that had little value as news 
but, however trivial their subject, were so well writ- 
ten that they presented the humor and pathos of 
everyday life in a very entertaining way. The sen- 
sational newspapers took advantage of the oppor- 
tunity but they shocked their readers in that they 
tried to appeal to the emotions through the kind of 

234 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

facts that they printed, rather than through the 
presentation of the facts. They did not see that the 
effectiveness of the emotional appeal depends upon 
the way in which a human interest story is written, 
rather than upon the story itself. Therefore they 
shocked their readers with extremely pathetic facts 
presented in the usual newspaper way, while the 
journals which stood for high literary excellence 
were able to handle trivial human interest material 
very effectively. Now all the newspapers of the 
land have learned the form and are printing effective 
human interest stories every day. 

Another reason behind the growth of the human 
interest story is the curse of cynicism which news- 
paper work imprints upon so many of its followers. 
Every editor knows that no ordinary reporter can 
work a police court or hospital run day after day 
for any length of time without losing his sensibili- 
ties and becoming hardened to the sterner facts in 
human life. Misfortune and bitterness become so 
common to him that he no longer looks upon them 
as misfortune and misery, but just as news. Grad- 
ually his stories lose all sympathy and kindliness 
and he writes of suffering men as of so many wooden 
ten-pins. When he has reached this attitude of cyn- 
icism, his usefulness to his paper is almost gone, for 
a reporter must always see and write the news from 

235 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

the reader's sympathetic point of view. To keep 
their reporters 5 sensibilities awake editors have tried 
various expedients which have been more or less 
successful. One of these is the "up-lift run" for cub 
reporters — a round of philanthropic news sources to 
teach them the business of reporting before they be- 
come cynical. Another is the human interest story. 
If a reporter knows that his paper is always ready 
and glad to print human interest stories full of 
kindliness and human sympathy, he is ever on the 
watch for human interest subjects and consequently 
forces himself to see things in a sympathetic way. 
Thus he unconsciously wards off cynicism. The 
search for human interest material is a modification 
of the "sob squad" work of the sensational papers, 
on more delicate lines. 

A human interest story is primarily an attempt 
to portray human feeling — to talk about men as men 
and not as names or things. It is an attempt to look 
upon life with sympathetic human eyes and to put 
living people into the reports of the day's news. If 
a man falls and breaks his neck, a bald recital of 
the facts deals with him only as an animal or an 
inanimate name. The fact is interesting as one 
item in the list of human misfortunes, but no more. 
And yet there are many people to whom this man's 
accident is more than an interesting incident — it 

236 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

is a very serious matter, perhaps a calamity. To 
his family he was everything in the world; more 
than a mere means of support, he was a living hu- 
man being whom they loved. The bald report of 
his death does not consider them; it does not con- 
sider the man's own previous existence. But if we 
could get into the hearts of his wife and his mother 
and his children, we could feel something of the 
real significance of the accident. This is what the 
human interest story tries to do. It does not nec- 
essarily strive for any effect, pathetic or otherwise, 
but tries simply to treat the victim of the misfor- 
tune as a human being. The reporter endeavors to 
see what in the story made people cry and then tries 
to reproduce it. In the same way in another minor 
occurrence, he attempts to reproduce the side of an 
incident that made people laugh. Either incident 
may or may not have had news value in its baldest 
aspect, but the sympathetic treatment makes the re- 
sulting human interest story worth printing. 

There are various kinds of human interest sto- 
ries. The common ground in them all is usually 
their lack of any intrinsic news value. Many a 
successful human interest story has been printed 
although it contained no one of the elements of 
news values that were outlined earlier in this book. 
In fact, one of the uses of the human interest story 

237 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

is to utilize newspaper by-products that have no news 
value in themselves. Hence the human interest 
story has no news feature to be played up and, 
since it does not contain any real news, it does 
not have to answer any customary questions. In 
form it is much like a short story of fiction, since 
it depends on style and the ordinary rules of narra- 
tion. The absence of a lead, more than any other 
characteristic, distinguishes the human interest story 
from the news story, in form. We have worked 
hard to learn to play up the gist of the news in our 
news stories; now we come to a story which makes 
no attempt to play up its news — in fact, it may leave 
its most interesting content until the end and spring 
it as a surprise in the last line. To be sure, most 
human interest stories have and indicate a timeli- 
ness. The story may have no news value but it is 
always concerned with a recent event and usually 
tells at the outset when the event occurred. Almost 
without exception, the examples quoted in this chap- 
ter show their timeliness by telling in the first sen- 
tence when the event occurred. So much for the 
outward form of the human interest story. 

1. Pathetic Story. — One of the many kinds of hu- 
man interest stories is the pathetic story. Although 
it does not openly strive for pathos, it is pathetic 
in that it tells the story of a human misfortune, sim- 

238 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 



ply and clearly, with all the details that made the 
incident sad. It is the story that attempts to put 
the reader into the very reality of the pain and sor- 
row of every human life. Sometimes it makes him 
cry, sometimes it makes him shudder, and sometimes 
it disgusts him, but it always shows, him misfortune 
as it really is. It looks down behind the outward 
actions and words into the hearts of its actors and 
shows us motives and feelings rather than facts. 
But just as soon as any attempt at pathos becomes 
evident, the story loses its effectiveness. Its only 
means are clear perception and absolute truthful- 
ness. Here is an example of a pathetic human in- 
terest story taken from a daily paper : 



Rissa Sachs' child mind yesterday 
evolved a tragic answer to the question, 
"What shall be done with the children 
of divorced parents?" 

She took her life. 

Rissa was 14 years old. The divorce 
decree that robbed her of a home was 
less than a week old. It was granted 
to her mother, Mrs. Mellisa Sachs, by 
Judge Brentano last Saturday. 

When the divorce case was called for 
trial Rissa found that she would be com- 
J pelled to testify. Reluctantly she cor- 
roborated her mother's story that her 
father, Benjamin Sachs* had struck Mrs. 
Sachs. It was largely due to this tes- 
timony that the decree was granted and 



239 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

the custody of the child awarded to Mrs. 
Sachs. 

Then the troubles of the girl began 
in real earnest. She loved her mother 
dearly. But her father, who had been 
a companion to her as well as a parent, 
was equally dear to her. 

Both parents pleaded with her. Mrs. 
Sachs told Rissa she could not live 
without her. The father told the girl, 
in a conversation in a downtown hotel 
several days ago, that he would disown 
her unless she went to live with him. 

Every hour increased the perplexities 
of the situation for the child. She could 
not decide to give up either of her par- 
ents for fear of offending the other. 
So she sacrificed her own life and gave 
up both. 

Thursday evening, on returning from 
school to the Sachs home at 4529 Ra- 
cine avenue, Rissa talked long and earn- 
estly with her mother. Then she retired 
to her room, turned on the gas and, 
clothed, lay down upon her bed to await 
death and relief from troubles that have 
driven older heads to despair. 

At the inquest yesterday afternoon 
the grief-stricken mother told the story 
of her daughter's difficulties. She said 
that Rissa had declared she could not 
live if compelled to give up either of 
her parents, but added that she never 
had believed it. — Chicago Record-Her- 
ald, 



240 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

This is a pathetic human interest story in that 
it attempts to give the human significance of an in- 
cident which in itself would have little news value. 
Perhaps, in the matter of words, there is a slight 
straining for pathos. The form, it will be noted, 
is decidedly different from that of a news story on 
the same incident and, although the timeliness is 
given in the first line, there is no attempt to present 
the gist of the story in a formal lead. The source 
of the news is indicated in the last paragraph. 

2. Humorous Story. — Another kind of human in- 
terest story is the humorous story. Its humor, like 
the pathos of a pathetic story, does not come from 
an attempt to be funny, but from the truthful pres- 
entation of a humorous incident, from the incongru- 
ity and ludicrousness of the incident itself. The 
writer tries to see what elements in a given incident 
made him laugh and then portrays them so clearly 
and truthfully that his readers cannot help laughing 
with him. The subject may be the most trivial 
thing in the world, not worth a line as a news story, 
and yet it may be told in such a way that it is worth 
a half-column write-up that will stand out as the 
gem of the whole edition. But after all the effect- 
iveness depends upon the humor in the original sub- 
ject and the truthfulness of the telling. The follow- 

241 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

ing humorous human interest story, which occupied 
a place on the front page, was built up out of an 
incident almost devoid of news value : 



One of Johnnie Wilt's original ideas 
for entertaining his twin sister Charlotte 
is to build a big bonfire on the floor of 
their playroom. 

Johnnie, who is 4 years old, carried 
his plan into execution at the Wilt 
home, 2474 Lake View avenue, for the 
first time yesterday afternoon, with re- 
sults that made a lasting impression 
upon his mind and the finishings of the 
interior of the house. 

The thing was suggested to him by a 
bonfire he saw a man build in the street. 
Charlotte hadn't seen the other fire. 
For some reason Charlotte's feminine 
mind refused to understand just what 
the fire was like. 

Consequently nothing remained for 
Johnnie to do but build a fire of his 
own. He piled all of the newspapers 
and playthings that could be found in 
the middle of the room and then ap- 
plied a match. 

When the flames leaped to the ceiling, 
however, and a cloud of smoke filled 
the room, Johnnie began to doubt the 
wisdom of the move. While Charlotte 
ran to tell a maid he retreated to that 
haven of youthful fugitives — the space 
beneath a couch. 

The frightened maid summoned the 
fire engines and the fire was soon ex- 

242 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

tinguished. But Mrs. Wilt discovered 
that Johnnie had disappeared. She tele- 
phoned to Charles T. Wilt, president 
of the trunk company that bears his 
name, and half hysterically told of the 
tire and the disappearance of Johnnie. 

Just then there was a scrambling 
sound from beneath the couch. John- 
nie, looking as serious as a 4-year-old 
face can look, walked out. 

Mrs. Wilt seized him and, to an ac- 
companiment of "I-won't-do-it-agains," 
crushed him to her bosom. Last reports 
from the Wilt home were that Johnnie 
had not yet been punished for his deed. 
— Chicago Record-Herald. -I 

The student will notice how all the facts of the 
story and the answers to the reader's questions are 
worked in here and there, how the content of a 
news story lead is scattered throughout the entire 
account. 

3. Writing the Human Interest Story. — It is one 
thing to be able to distinguish material for a human 
interest story and another to be able to write the 
story. The whole effectiveness of the story, as we 
have seen, depends upon the way it is written. 
Many a poorly written, ungrammatical news story is 
printed simply because it contains facts that are of 
interest, regardless of the way in which they are pre- 
sented. But never is a poorly written human inter- 
est story printed ; simply because the facts in it have 
17 243 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

little interest themselves and the story's usefulness 
depends entirely upon the presentation of the facts. 
Hence, the human interest story, more than any 
other newspaper story, must be well written. And 
yet there are no rules to assist in the writing of such 
a story. In fact, its very nature depends upon orig- 
inality and newness in form and treatment. 

In the first place, we cannot fall back upon the 
conventional lead for a beginning, because a lead 
would be out of place. As we have said before, the 
human interest story does not begin with a lead for 
the reason that it has no striking news content to 
present in the lead. In many cases the whole story 
depends upon cleverly arranged suspense; if the 
content is given in a lead at the beginning suspense 
is of course impossible. The human interest story 
has no more need of a lead than does a short story — 
in some ways a human interest story is very much 
like a short story — and a short story that gives its 
climax in the first paragraph would hardly be writ- 
ten or read. But, just like the short story, a human 
interest story must begin in an attractive way. In 
the study of short story writing almost half of the 
study is devoted to learning how to begin the story, 
on the theory that the reader is some sort of a fugi- 
tive animal that must be lassoed by an attractive and 
interesting beginning. The theory is of course a 

244 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

true one and it holds good in the case of human 
interest stories. 

But no rules can be laid down to govern the be- 
ginning of human interest or short stories. Each 
story must begin in its own way — and each must 
begin in a different way. Some writers of short 
stories begin with dialogue, others with a clean-cut 
witticism, others with attractive explanation or de- 
scription, others with a clever apology. The list is 
endless. This endless list is ready for the reporter 
who is trying to write human interest stories. But 
the choosing must be his own. He must select the 
beginning that seems best adapted to his story. As 
an inspiration to reporters who are trying to write 
human interest stories, a few beginnings clipped 
from daily papers are given here. Some are good 
and some are bad; the goodness or badness in each 
case depends upon individual taste. They can 
hardly be classified in more than a general way for 
originality is opposed to all classifications. They 
are merely suggestions. 

A striking quotation or a bit of apt dialogue is 

commonly used to attract attention to a story. Here 

are some examples : 

"Burglars/' whispered Mrs. Vermilye 
to herself and she took another furtive 
peek out of the windows of her rooms 
on the sixth floor of the, etc. ... 

245 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



"Speaking of peanuts," observed the 
man with the red whiskers, "they ain't 
the only thing in the world what is 
small." Etc. 

"Ales, Wines, Liquors and Cigars!" 
You see this sign in the windows of 
every corner life-saving station. But 
what would you say if you saw it blaz- 
ing over the entrance to the Colony 
Club, that rendezvous for the little and 
big sisters of the rich at Madison ave- 
nue and Thirtieth street? Etc. 



WANTED— Bright educated lady as secre- 
tary to business man touring northwest states 
and Alaska: give reference, ability; age, de- 
scription. Address E-640, care Bee. 

(7) -680 lox. 



The above innocent appearing want 
ad in The Bee, although alluring in its 
prospects to a young woman desiring a 
summer vacation, is the principal factor 
in the arrest of one M. W. Williams, etc. 

A well-written first sentence in a human interest 
story often purports to tell the whole story, like a 
news story lead, and really tells only enough to make 
you want to read further. Here are a few examples : 

His son's suspicions and a can opener 
convinced Andrew Sherrer last Satur- 
day that he had been fleeced out of 
$500 by two clever manipulators of an 
ancient "get - something - for - nothing" 
swindle. So strong was the victim's 
confidence, etc, 

246 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

There's a stubborn, unlaid ghost, a 
gnome, a goblin, a swart fairy at the 
least, who has settled down for the 
winter in a perfectly respectable cellar 
over in Brooklyn and whiles away the 
dismal hours of the night by chopping 
spectral cordwood with a phantom axe. 
Instead of going to board with Mrs. 
Pepper or another medium and being of 
some use in the world and having a 
pleasant, dim-lighted cabinet all its own, 
this unhappy ghost — or ghostess — is pes- 
tering Marciana Rose of 1496 Bergen 
street, who owns the cellar and the 
house over it — over both the ghost and 
the cellar. Etc. 

The gowk who calls up 3732 Rector 
today will get a splinter in his ringer if 
he scratches his head. Nothing doing 
with 3732 Rector. From early morn 
till dewy eve Mr. Fish, Mr. C. Horse, 
Mr. Bass, Mr. Skate and other inmates 
of the aquarium will be inaccessible by 
'phone. Etc. 

Under all the saffron banners and the 
sprawling dragons clawing at red suns 
over the roofs of Chinatown yesterday 
there was a tension of unrest and of 
speculation. It all had to do with the 
luncheon to be given to his Imperial 
Highness Prince Tsai Tao and the 
members of his staff at the Tuxedo Res- 
taurant, 2 Doyers street, at noon to- 
morrow. Etc. 



247 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Man and wife, sitting side by side as 
pupils, was the interesting spectacle 
which provided the feature of the ele- 
mentary night school opening last night. 
Etc. 

Two young Germans of Berlin, 
neither quite 'i8 years of age, had a 
perfectly uncorking time aboard the 
White Star liner Majestic, in yesterday. 
They were favorites with the smoke- 
room stewards. They learned later that 
man is born unto trouble as the corks 
fly upward. Etc. 

It was a long black overcoat with a 
velvet collar, big cuffed sleeves, and 
broad of shoulder, and looked decidedly 
warm and comfy. It stood in one of 

the large display windows of , 

and covered the deficiencies of a waxy 
dummy, who stared in a surprised sort 
of manner out into the street and ap- 
peared to be looking at nothing. Etc. 

The bellboys put him up to it and 
then Marcus caused a lot of trouble. 
Marcus is a parrot who has been spend- 
ing the winter in one of the large 
Broadway hotels. Etc. 

Lame, old, but uncomplaining, re- 
membering only his joy when a visitor 
came to him, and forgetting to be bitter 
because of the wrongs done him, meet- 
ing his rescuer with a wag of the tail 
meant to be joyful, a St. Bernard dog 
set an example* etc. 

248 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

Some human interest stories begin, and effectively, 

too, with a direct personal appeal to the reader; 

thus: 

If you've never seen anybody laugh 
with his hands, you should have eased 
yourself up against a railing at the Bar- 
num and Bailey circus in Madison 
Square Garden yesterday afternoon and 
watched a band of 250 deaf mute young- 
sters, all bedecked in their bestest, sig- 
nalling all over the Garden. Etc. 

If you've ever sat in the enemy's camp 
when the Blue eleven lunged its last 
yard for a touchdown and had your 
hair ruffled by the roar that swept across 
the gridiron, you can guess how 1,500 
Yale men yelled at the Waldorf last 
night for Bill Taft of '78. Etc. 

A question is often used at the beginning of a hu- 
man interest story: 

A near-suicide or an accident. Which? 
Keeper Bean is somewhat puzzled to 
say which, but it is quite certain it will 
not be tried again. At least, Keeper 
Bean does not think it will. 

But, it was a sad, sad Sunday for the 
little white-faced monkey. For hours 
he lay as dead, etc. 

Many of these stories, animal or otherwise, begin 
with a name: 

249 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Long Tom, a Brahma rooster that 
had been the "bad inmate" of Jacob 
Meister's farm at West Meyersville, N. 
J., for three years, paid the penalty of 
his crimes Christmas morning when he 
was beheaded after his owner had con- 
demned him to death. Bad in life, he 
was good in a potpie that day, etc. 



The beginning of a human interest story is always 
the most important part; just like a news story, it 
must attract attention with its first line. In the 
same way, a good beginning is something more 
than half done. But here the similarity between 
the two ends. The news story, after the lead is 
written, may slump in technique so that the end is 
almost devoid of interest ; the human interest story, 
on the other hand, must keep up its standard of ex- 
cellence to the very last sentence and the last line 
must have as much snap as the first. It is never 
in danger of losing its last paragraph and so it 
may be more rounded and complete ; it must fol- 
low a definite plan to the very end and then stop. 
In this it is like the short story, although it seldom 
has a plot. There are no rules to help us in writ- 
ing any part of the human interest story. Each at- 
tempt has a different purpose and must be done in 
a different way. Yet the reporter must know be- 
fore he begins just exactly how he is going to work 

250 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

out the whole story. He must plan it as carefully 
as a short story. A few minutes of careful thought 
before he begins to write are better than much re- 
working and alteration after the thing is done. 
This applies to all newspaper writing. 

Much of the effectiveness of the human interest 
story depends upon the reporter's style. When we 
try to write human interest stories we are no longer 
interested in facts, as much as in words. Our read- 
ers are not following us to be informed, but to be 
entertained. And we can please them only by our 
style and the fineness of our perception. Although 
we have been told to write news stories in the com- 
mon every-day words of conversation, we are not 
so limited in the human interest story. The ele- 
gance of our style depends very largely upon the 
size of our vocabulary, and elegance is not out of 
place in this kind of story. Although we have been 
told to use dialogue sparingly in news stories, our 
human interest story may be composed entirely of 
dialogue. In fact, we are hampered by no restric- 
tions except the restrictions of English grammar 
and literary composition. Although we have sought 
simplicity of expression before, we may now strive 
for subtlety and for effect; we may write suggest* 
ively and even obscurely. We are dealing with the 
only part of the newspaper that makes any effort 

25 1 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

toward literary excellence and only our originality 
and cleverness can guide us. 

It is hardly necessary to repeat that one cannot 
write human interest stories in a cynical tone. They 
are a reaction against cynicism. They re- 
quire one to feel keenly, as a human being, and 
to write sympathetically, as a human being. The 
reporter must see behind the facts and get the per- 
sonal side of the matter — and feel it. Then he must 
tell the story just as he sees and feels it. Absolute 
truthfulness in the telling is as necessary as keen 
perception in the seeing. Humor must be sought 
through the simple, truthful presentation of an 
incongruous or humorous idea or situation; pathos 
must be sought by the truthful presentation of a 
pathetic picture. Just as soon as the reporter tries 
to be funny or to be pathetic he fails, for the reader 
is not looking to the reporter for fun or pathos — 
but to the story that the reporter is telling. That 
is, the story must be written objectively; the writer 
must forget himself in his attempt to impress the 
story upon his reader's mind. If the story itself 
is fundamentally humorous or sad and the story is 
clearly and truthfully told with all the details that 
make it humorous or sad, it cannot help being ef- 
fective. 

The best way to learn how to write human inter- 

252 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

est stories is to study human interest stories. Most 
papers print them nowadays — they can easily be 
distinguished by their lack of news value, and of 
a lead — and the finest example is just as likely to 
crop out in a little weekly as in a metropolitan daily. 

4. The Animal Story.— The examples printed ear- 
lier in this chapter are specimens of the truest type 
of human interest story because they deal with hu- 
man beings. They derive their joy or sorrow from 
things that happen to men and women. But all the 
sketches that are classed as human interest stories 
are not so carefully confined to the limits of the 
title. From the original human interest story the 
type has grown until it includes many other things 
— almost any piece of copy that has no intrinsic 
news value. Every possible subject that may suit 
itself to a pathetic or humorous treatment and thus 
be interesting, although it has no news value, is 
roughly classed as a human interest story. 

One of these outgrowths of the true human in- 
terest sketch is the animal story. In the large cities, 
the "zoo" and the parks have become a fruitful 
source of "news." Anything interesting that may 
happen to the monkeys, or the elephant, the spar- 
rows or the squirrels in the parks, horses or dogs 
in the street, is used as the excuse for a human in- 
terest story. Sometimes the purpose is pathos and 

253 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

sometimes it is humor, but, whatever it may be, if 
it is clever and interesting it gets its place in the 
paper, a place entirely out of proportion to its true 
news value. The results sometimes verge very close 
upon nature faking, but after all they are only the 
result of the "up-lift" idea of looking at all life in 
a more sympathetic way. Several of the begin- 
nings quoted earlier in this chapter belong to ani- 
mal stories and the following is a complete one: 



Smithy Kain was only a mongrel, 
horsemen will say, but in his equine 
heart there coursed the blood of thor- 
oughbreds. 

Smithy Kain was killed yesterday af- 
ternoon, shot through the head, while 
thousands of Wisconsin fair patrons 
looked on in shuddering sympathy. 

It was a tragedy of the track. 

Owners, trainers and drivers always 
are quick to declare that no greater 
courage is known than that possessed 
and demonstrated by race horses in 
hard-fought battles on the turf, and the 
truth of this was never more strikingly 
brought home than in the death of 
Smithy Kain yesterday. 

With a left hind foot snapped at the 
fetlock, Smithy Kain raced around the 
track, his valiant spirit and unfaltering 
gameness keeping him up until he had 
completed the course in unwavering pur- 
suit of the flying horses in front. Every 
jump meant intense agony, but he would 

254 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

not quit. Not until near the finish did 
his strength give out, and not until then 
was the pitiable truth discovered. Men 
used to exhibitions of gameness in tests 
that try the soul looked on in mute ad- 
miration as Smithy Kain shivered and 
stumbled from the pain that rapidly 
sapped his life. Women cried openly. 

Two shots from the pistol of a park 
policeman ended the life and sufferings 
of the horse that was only a mongrel, 
but who, in his equine way, was a 
thoroughbred of thoroughbreds. 

Smithy Kain gave to his master the 
best that his animal mind and soul pos- 
sessed. No better memorial can be 
written even of man himself. 



5. The Special Feature Story.— One step beyond 
the animal story is the special feature story. This 
kind of story is classed with the human interest 
story because it has no news value and because its 
only purpose is to entertain or to inform in a gen- 
eral way; and yet it rarely contains any human in- 
terest. There is no space in this book for a com- 
plete discussion of the special feature story — an en- 
tire volume might be devoted to the subject — but 
this form of story is often seen in the news columns 
of the daily papers and deserves a mention here. 
Ordinarily the special feature story is not written 
by reporters, although there is no reason why re- 
porters should not use in this way many of the 

255 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

facts that come to them. The story usually comes 
from outside the newspaper office, from a contrib- 
utor, from a syndicate, or from some other daily, 
weekly, or monthly publication; however a word or 
two here may suggest to the reporter the possibil- 
ity of adding to his usefulness by writing such sto- 
ries for his paper. 

The special feature story may be almost anything. 
The name is used to designate timely magazine arti- 
cles, timely write-ups for the Sunday edition, and 
timely squibs for the columns of the daily papers. 
The last use is the one that interests us and it inter- 
ests us because it is very closely related to the human 
interest story. The editors usually call it a feature 
story because it is worth printing in spite of the 
fact that it has no news value. In this and in its 
timeliness it is like the human interest story. But 
it is not written for humor or pathos; its purpose 
is to entertain the reader. Its method is largely 
expository and its style may be anything ; it may ex- 
plain or it may simply comment in a witty way. The 
utilizing of otherwise useless by-products of the 
news is its purpose — in this it is very much like the 
animal story. 

Subjects for feature stories may come from any- 
where and may be almost anything. A very com- 
mon kind of feature story is the weather story that 

256 



HUMAN INTEREST STORIES 

many newspapers print every day. The weather is 
taken as the excuse for two or three stickfuls of 
print which explain and comment upon weather con- 
ditions, past, present and future. Growing out of 
this, there is the season story which deals with any 
subject that the season may suggest : the closing of 
Coney Island, the spring styles in men's hats, the 
first fur overcoat, Commencement presents, Easter 
eggs — anything in season. Further removed from 
the human interest story is the timely write-up 
which has no other purpose than to explain, in a 
more or less serious or sensible way, any interest- 
ing subject that comes to hand. The story purports 
not only to entertain but to inform as well. It has 
no news value and yet it is usually timely. Here are 
a few subjects selected at random from the daily 
papers : "He'll pay no tax on cake/' explaining in 
a humorous way the customs methods that held up 
the importation of an Italian Christmas cake; 
"Clearing House for Brains," a description of the 
new employment bureau of the Princeton Club of 
New York; "Ideal man picked by the Barnard 
girl," a humorous resume of some Barnard College 
class statistics; "Winning a Varsity Letter," telling 
what a varsity letter stands for, how it is won, and 
what the customs of the various colleges in regard 
to letters are; "Jerry Moore raises a record corn 

257 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

crop/' telling how a fifteen=year=old boy won prizes 
with a little patch of corn. 

These are just a few suggestions to open up to 
the reporter the vast field for special feature articles. 
To be sure, many of them are submitted by out- 
siders, but there is no reason why a reporter should 
not write these stories as well as human interest 
stories for his paper, since he is in the best posi- 
tion to get the material. Whenever a special fea- 
ture story becomes too large for the daily edition 
there is always a possibility of selling it to the Sun- 
day section or to a monthly magazine. The writing 
of special feature stories is directly in line with the 
reporter's work, because the ordinary method of 
gathering facts for a feature article and arranging 
them in an interesting, newsy way follows closely 
the method by which a reporter covers and writes 
a news story. Hence almost without exception the 
most successful magazine feature writers are, or 
have been, newspaper reporters. 



XVI 

DRAMATIC REPORTING 

Dramatic reporting is one of the most misused 
of the newspaper reporter's activities. To many 
reporters, as well as to their editors, it is just an 
easy way of getting free admission to the theater 
in return for a half column of copy. Hence it is 
treated in an unjustly trivial way; the reports of 
theatrical productions are printed most often as 
space fillers or as a small advertisement in return for 
free tickets. But after all the work is an important 
one and should be done only by skillful and expert 
hands. Dramatic reporting is included in this book, 
not because it is thought possible to give the sub- 
ject an adequate treatment, but because theatrical 
reporting is a branch of the newspaper trade that 
may fall to the hands of the youngest reporter. In 
mere justice to the stage the reporter who writes 
up a play should know something about the real sig- 
nificance of what he is doing. It is much easier 
to tell the beginner what not to do than to tell him 
18 259 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

exactly what to do. The faults in dramatic report- 
ing are far more evident than the virtues; and yet 
there are some positive things that may be said on 
the subject. 

The first important question in the whole matter 
is "Who does dramatic reporting ?" One would like 
to answer, "Skilled critics of broad knowledge and 
experience." But unfortunately almost anybody 
does it — any one about the office who is willing to 
give up his evening to go to the theater. To be sure, 
many metropolitan papers employ skilled critics to 
write their dramatic copy and run the theatrical 
news over the critic's name. Some editors of 
smaller papers have the decency to do the work 
themselves. But in most cases the work is given 
to an ordinary reporter — and not infrequently to the 
greenest reporter on the staff. Worse than that, the 
work is seldom given to the same reporter contin- 
uously, but is passed around among all the members 
of the staff. Even a green cub may learn by expe- 
rience how to report plays, but if the work falls to 
him only once a month his training is very 
meager. It would seem in these days of much dis- 
cussion of the theater that editors would realize 
the power which they have over the stage through 
their favorable or unfavorable criticism. But they 
do not, perhaps because they know little about the 

260 



DRAMATIC REPORTING 

stage, and the appeal must be made to their re- 
porters. Every reporter, except upon the largest 
papers, has the opportunity sooner or later to give 
his opinion on a play. In anticipation of that op- 
portunity these few words of advice are offered. 

The first requisite in dramatic criticism is a back- 
ground of knowledge of the drama and the stage. 
To children, and to some grown people, too, the 
stage is a little dream world of absolute realities. 
Their imaginations turn the picture that is placed be- 
fore them into real, throbbing life. They do not 
see the unreality of the art, the suggestive effects, 
the flimsy delusions ; to them the play is real life, the 
stage is a real drawing room or a real wood, and 
they cannot conceive of the actors existing outside 
their parts. But the critic must look deeper; he 
must understand the machinery that produces the 
effects and he must weigh the success of the effects. 
He must get behind the play and see the actors out- 
side the cast and the stage without its scenery; 
the dramatic art must be to him a highly technical 
profession. For this reason, he must know some- 
thing about dramatic technique ; he must have some 
background of knowledge. He must study the the- 
ater from every point of view, from an orchestra 
seat, from behind the scenes, from a peekhole in 
the playwright's study, and from the pages of stage 

261 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

history. All the tricks and effects must be evident 
to him. The only thing that will teach him this is 
constant, intelligent theater-going. He must be 
familiar with all of the plays of the season and 
with all of the prominent plays of all seasons. A 
child cannot criticize the first play that he sees be- 
cause he has nothing with which to compare it. In 
the same way a reporter cannot justly judge any 
kind of play until he has seen another of the same 
kind with which to compare it. Hence he must 
know many plays and must know something about 
the history of the theater. Dramatic criticism is 
relative and the critic must have a basis for his com- 
parison. 

This background of knowledge may seem a diffi- 
cult thing to acquire. It is; and it can best be ac- 
quired by watching many plays with an eye for the 
technique of the art. The critic may judge a play 
from its effect upon him, but his judgment will be 
superficial. He must try to see what the playwright 
is trying to do, how well he succeeds, what tricks he 
employs. He must judge the work of the stage car- 
penter and of the costumer. He must try to realize 
what problem the leading lady has to face and how 
well she solves it. The same carefulness of judg- 
ment must be given to each member of the cast. 
Only when the critic is able to see past the foot- 

262 



DRAMATIC REPORTING 

lights and to understand the technique of the art, 
can he judge intelligently. And as his judgment 
can be at best only relative, he must have a back- 
ground of many plays and much stage knowledge 
upon which to base his estimate of any one pro- 
duction. 

The ideal criticism, based upon this background 
of knowledge, would be absolutely fair and unpreju- 
diced. But unfortunately this ideal cannot always 
be followed. Much dramatic criticism is colored by 
the policy of the paper that prints it. Very few 
critics are so fortunate as to be able to say exactly 
what they think about a play; they must say what 
the editor wants them to say. Some theatrical copy, 
especially write-ups of vaudeville shows, is paid for 
and must contain nothing but praise. Sometimes it 
is necessary to praise the poorest production sim- 
ply because the paper is receiving so much a column 
for the praise. In many other cases, when the copy 
is not paid for, the editor often considers it only 
fair to give the production a little puff in return 
for the free press tickets. And so a large share 
of any reporter's dramatic criticism is reduced to 
selecting things that he can praise. Yet, one cannot 
praise in a way that is too evident ; he cannot simply 
say "The play was good ; the staging was good ; the 
acting was good; in fact, everything was good." 

263 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



He must praise more cleverly and give his copy 
the appearance of honest criticism. Perhaps the 
principle is wrong, but nevertheless it exists and 
happy is the dramatic critic whose paper allows him 
to say exactly what he thinks. However, whether 
one may say what he thinks or must say what his 
editor wants him to say, he must have as his back- 
ground a thorough knowledge of the stage upon 
which he may base a comparison or a contrast and 
with which he may make intelligent statements. 
The following illustrates what may be done with a 
paid report of a mediocre vaudeville show in which 
every act must be praised — the report was written 
on Monday of a week's run and is intended to in- 
duce people to see the show: 



This week's bill at 



Vaudeville 



Theatre is dashed onto the boards by a 
very exciting act, "The Flying Martins/' 
whose thrilling tricks put the audience 
in a proper state of mind for the spark- 
ling and laughable program that follows 
— a state of mind that keeps its high 
pitch without a break or let-down to the 
very end of Dr. Herman's side-splitting 
electrical pranks. This man, who has 
truly "tamed electricity," does many re- 
markable things with his big coils and 
high voltage currents and plays many 
extremely funny tricks upon his row of 
"unsuspecting-handsome" young volun- 
teers. 

264 



DRAMATIC REPORTING 

The musical little playlet, "The Barn 
Dance," is very jokingly carried off by 
its Jack-of-all-Trades, "Zeke," the con- 
stable, and its pretty little ensemble song, 
"I'll Build a Nest for You/' Many a 
young husband can get pointers on 
"home rule" from "Baseballitis ;" it is a 
mighty good presentation of the "My 
Hero" theme in actual life. Hilda Haw- 
thorne gives us some high-class ventrilo- 
quism with a good puppet song that is 
truly wonderful. There's a lot of good 
music, very good music in the sketch 
executed by "The Three Vagrants," as 
well as a lot of fun; one can hardly 
realize what an amount of melody an 
old accordion contains. Audrey Prin- 
gle and George Whiting have a hit that 
is sparkling with quick changes from 

I Irish love songs to bull frog croaking 

I with Italian variations. 

For the purpose of a more complete study of 
the subject, however, we shall consider only dra- 
matic criticism that is not restricted by editorial 
dictum or by the requirements of paid-space. That 
is, we shall imagine that we can praise or condemn 
or say anything we please concerning the dramatic 
production which we are to report. When we look 
at the subject in this way there are some positive 
things that may be said about theatrical reporting, 
but there are many more negative rules, that may 
be reduced to mere "Don'ts." The same principles 

265 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

hold good in dramatic criticism that is hampered 
by policy, but to a less degree. 

In the first place, the one thing that a dramatic 
reporter must have when he begins to write his 
copy after the performance is some positive idea 
about the play, some definite criticism, upon which 
to base his whole report. It is impossible to write 
a coherent report from chance jottings and to con- 
fine the report to saying "This was good; that was 
bad, the other was mediocre." The critic must 
have a positive central idea upon which to hang his 
criticism. This central idea plays the same part 
in his report as the feature in a news story — it is 
the feature of his report which he brings into the 
first sentence, to which he attaches every item, and 
with which he ends his report. To secure this idea, 
the reporter must watch the play closely with the 
purpose of crystallizing his judgment in a single 
conception, thought, or impression. Sometimes this 
impression comes as an inspiration, sometimes it is 
the result of hard thought during or after the play. 
It may be concerned with the theme of the play, 
the playwright's work, the lines, the staging, the 
effects, the tricks, the acting as a whole, the acting 
of single persons, the music, the dancing, the cos- 
tumes — anything connected with the production — 
but the idea must be big enough to carry the entire 

266 



DRAMATIC REPORTING 

report and to be the gist of what the critic has to 
say about the play. It must be his complete, concise 
opinion of the performance. 

When, as the critic watches the play, some idea 
comes to him for his report he should jot it down. 
As the play progresses he should develop this idea 
and watch for details that carry it out. There is 
no reason to be ashamed of taking notes in the 
theater and the notes will prove very useful at the 
office afterward. Perhaps after the play is over 
the critic finds that his jottings contain another 
idea that is of greater importance than the first; 
then he may incorporate the second into the first or 
discard the first altogether. Even after one has 
crystallized his judgment into a concise opinion he 
must elaborate and illustrate it and the program of 
the play is always of value in enabling one to refer 
definitely to the individual actors, characters, and 
other persons, by name. But, however complete the 
final judgment and the notes may be, it is always 
well to write the report immediately. When one 
leaves the theater his mind is teeming with things to 
say about the play, thousands of them, but after a 
night's sleep it is doubtful if a single full-grown 
idea will remain and the jottings will be absolutely 
lifeless and unsuggestive. 

This is the positive instruction that may be given 

267 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 



to young dramatic critics. It is so important and 
is unknown to so many young theatrical reporters, 
that it may be well to sum it up again. A dramatic 
criticism must be coherent; it must be unified. It 
must be the embodiment of a single idea about the 
play and every detail in the report must be attached 
to that idea. It is not sufficient to state the idea 
in a clever way ; it must be expanded and elaborated 
with examples and reasons and must show careful 
thought. It is well to outline the report before it 
is written and to arrange a logical sequence of 
thought so that the result may be well-rounded and 
coherent. 

The following is an example of a dramatic criti- 
cism in which this course is followed. It neither 
praises nor condemns but it points out gently 
wherein the play is strong or weak — and every sen- 
tence is attached to one central idea: 



A POLITE LITTLE PLAY. 

Never raise your voice, my dear Gerald. That is the 
only thing left to distinguish us from the lower classes. 
Lord Wynlea in "The Best People". 

The new comedy at the Lyric Theatre 
is written in accordance with Lord 
Wynlea's dictum quoted above. It is 
mannerly, well poised, ingratiating and 
deft. As a minor effort in the high 
comedy style it is welcome, because it 
affords a respite from the "plays with 
a punch" and the prevalent boisterous 
specimens of the work of yeomen who 

268 



DRAMATIC REPORTING 

go at the art of dramatic writing with 
main strength. 

"The Best People" is by Frederick 
Lonsdale and Frank Curzen, who mani- 
festly know some of them. It was done 
at Wyndham's Theatre in London, and 
we think that in a comfortable English 
playhouse, with tea between acts and 
leisurely persons with whom to visit in 
the foyer, it would make an agreeable 
matinee. Certainly it is admirably act- 
ed here, and, as has been intimated, its 
quiet drollery and its polite maneuver- 
ing make it a relief. 

Whether American audiences, used to 
stronger fare than tea at the theatre, 
will find it sustaining is a question that 
would seem to be answered by the an- 
nouncement, just received from the 
Lyric, that the engagement closes next 
Saturday evening. 

The fable relates how the Honorable 
Mrs. Bayle discovered that her husband 
and Lady Ensworth had been flirting 
with peril during her absence in Egypt, 
how she blithely threw them much to- 
gether, with the result that they grew 
intensely weary of each other, and how 
at last everybody concerned was hap- 
pily and sensibly reconciled. 

The spirit of the piece is sane and 
"nice," the decoration of it whimsical 
and graceful. 

Miss Lucille Watson, embodying the 
spirit of witty mischief, gives a very 
fine performance of the part of Mrs. 
Bayle, a "smart," good woman, and Miss 

269 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Ruth Shepley is excellent in byplay and 
flutter as a silly, good woman. 

Cyril Scott is graceful and vigorous 
as a philandering husband, Dallas An- 
derson comical as a London clubman 
with a keener relish in life than he is 
willing to betray, and William McVey 
wise, paternal and weighty in that kind 
of a part. 

"The Best People" is a pleasant spring 
fillip. 

The first admonition in theatrical reporting is 
"Don't resume the plot or tell the story of the 
play." This is almost all that many dramatic re- 
porters try to do, because it is the easiest thing to 
do and requires the least thought. But, after all, it 
is usually valueless. The story of the play does 
not interest readers who have already seen the play 
and it spoils the enjoyment of the play for those 
who intend to see it. The usual purpose of any 
theatrical report is to criticize, but a report that 
simply resumes the story of the play is not a criti- 
cism; hence space devoted to the story is usually 
wasted. To be sure, this admonition must be quali- 
fied. If the development of the critic's judgment of 
the play requires a resume of the story, there is then 
a reason for outlining the action. However, even 
then, the outline should be very brief. 

The following is a typical example of the usual 

270 



DRAMATIC REPORTING 

dramatic reporting which is satisfied when it has 
told the story of the play. In this, the first two 
sentences are a very bald attempt to repay the man- 
ager for his tickets. The resume of the story, given 
very obviously to fill space, is not of any critical 
value. The only real criticism is at the end and 
is inadequate because the praise is given without 
reason. 



Grace George and her small but ex- 
cellent company of artists added one 
more to their long list of successful 
performances last night in the produc- 
tion of Geraldine Bonner's clever com- 
edy of modern life, "Sauce for the 

Goose," at the Theatre. That the 

moody and sparkling Miss George has 
a good claim to the title of America's 
leading comedienne, no one who saw 
the performance last evening could 
deny. In this piece she is cast for the 
part of Kitty Constable, who is in the 
third year of her married life and liv- 
ing with her husband in New York City. 
Mr. Constable has been engaged in 
writing a book on the emancipation of 
woman and as a result has come to neg- 
lect his pretty little wife and seek the 
companionship of a certain woman of 
great intellect, Mrs. Alloway, who leads 
him on by an affected sympathy with 
his work. He chides his wife for her 
seeming negligence of the culture of her 
mind, telling her that she lacks grey 

271 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

matter. The climax comes when Mr. 
Constable tries to get away from his 
wife on the evening of their wedding 
anniversary to dine with Mrs. Alloway. 
Kitty tries the emancipated woman idea 
and goes to the opera with another man 
and has dinner with him in his apart- 
ments. She lets her husband know of 
her plans and he comes to the room 
in a rage. By thus playing first on his 
jealousy and then by ridiculing his 
ideas, she wins him back to herself. The 
company was made up of artists and 
there was not a crude spot in the whole 
performance. The part of Harry Tra- 
verse the friend of Mrs. Constable's, was 
excellently done by Frederick Perry, as 
was that of Mr. Constable by Herbert 
Percy. Probably the most difficult char- 
acter in the play to portray was that of 
the "woman's rights" woman, Mrs. Al- 
loway, which was most admirably done 
by Edith Wakeman. 



The word criticism must not lead the reporter to 
think that, as a critic, his only function is to find 
fault. To criticize may mean to praise as well as 
to condemn. If the critic is not restricted by the 
policy of his paper, he should be as willing to 
praise as to condemn, and vice versa. But which- 
ever course he takes he must be ready to defend his 
criticism and to tell why he praises or why he con- 
demns. There is always a tendency to praise a play 

2J2 



DRAMATIC REPORTING 

in return for the free tickets; this should be put 
aside absolutely. The critic owes something to the 
public as well as to the manager. If the play seems 
to him to be bad, he must say so without hesitation 
and he must tell why it is bad. Too many really 
bad plays are immensely advertised by a critic's un- 
defended statement that they are not fit to be seen. 
Had the critic given definite reasons for his con- 
demnation, his criticism might have accomplished 
its purpose. In the same way it is useless to say 
simply that a play is good. Its good points must 
be enumerated and the reader must be told why it 
is good. 

However, criticism must be written with delicacy. 
If your heart tells you to praise, praise; if your 
heart tells you to condemn, condemn with care. 
Remember that your condemnation may put the 
play off the boards or at least hurt its success, and 
there must be sufficient reason for such radical ac- 
tion. The critic's debt to the public is large, but 
he owes some consideration to the manager. He 
must hesitate before he says anything that may ruin 
the manager's business. Critics very often condemn 
a play for trivial reasons ; they feel indisposed, per- 
haps because their dinner has not agreed with them, 
the play does not fit into their mood and they turn 
in a half column of ruinous condemnation. Perhaps 

273 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

they like a certain kind of production — farces, for 
instance — and systematically vent their ire on every 
tragedy and every musical comedy. They do not 
use perspective; they do not judge the stage as 
a whole. No matter how poor a play is or how 
much a critic dislikes it, he must consider what 
the stage people are trying to do and judge accord- 
ingly. In many cases it is not the individual play 
that deserves adverse criticism, but the kind of play. 
All of these things must be considered; every dra- 
matic critic must have perspective. He must be fair 
to the stage people and to the public ; his influence is 
greater than he may imagine. 

No matter how strong the occasion for condem- 
nation may be, the dramatic critic is never justified 
in speaking bitterly. The poor production is not 
a personal offense against him nor against the pub- 
lic. It is simply a bad or an unworthy attempt and 
his duty is confined to pointing how or why it is 
not worthy. That does not mean that he is justi- 
fied in using bitter, abusive, or even sarcastic lan- 
guage. It is great sport to make fun of things and 
to exercise one's wits at some one's else expense — 
it is also easy — but that is not dramatic criticism. 
The public asks the critic to tell them calmly and 
fairly, even coldly, the reasons for or against a pro- 
duction — the reasons why they should, or should 

274 



DRAMATIC REPORTING 

not, spend their money to see it — bitter sarcasm 
overreaches the mark. Just as soon as a critic 
tries to be personal in his remarks on a play he 
is exceeding his prerogative and is open to serious 
criticism himself. 

The necessary attributes of a dramatic reporter, 
as we have seen, are : fairness, logical thinking, and 
a background of stage knowledge. And of these 
three, the background is of the greatest importance; 
it is the stimulus and the check for the other two. 
The more a critic can know about every phase of the 
theatrical profession, contemporary or historical, the 
better will be his criticisms. The more knowledge 
of the stage that his copy shows, the more greedily 
will his readers look for his "Theatrical News" 
each day. However clear his idea of a play may 
be he cannot express it clearly and readably with- 
out a background of other plays to refer to. And, 
by the same sign, a wealth of allusions and a quan- 
tity of theatrical lore will often carry a critic past 
many a play concerning which he is unable to form 
a clear opinion. To develop your ability as a dra- 
matic reporter, watch the theatrical criticisms in 
reputable dailies and weeklies and learn from them. 



19 



XVII 

STYLE BOOK 

Being a copy of the Style Book compiled for the 
Course in Journalism of the University of 
Wisconsin from the style books of many news- 
papers. 
1. Capitalize: 

All proper nouns: Smith, Madison, Wisconsin. 

Months and days of the week, but not the seasons 
of the year : April, Monday ; but autumn. 

The first word of every quotation, enumerated list, 
etc., following a colon. 

The principal words in the titles of books, plays, 
lectures, pictures, toasts, etc., including the initial 
"a" or "the": "The Merchant of Venice," 
"Fratres in Urbe." If a preposition is attached 
to or compounded with the verb capitalize the 
preposition also : "Voting For the Right Man." 

The names of national political bodies : House, 
Senate, Congress, the Fifty-first Congress. 

The names of national officers, national departments, 
etc. : President, Vice President, Navy Depart- 
ment, Department of Justice (but not bureau of 
labor), White House, Supreme Court (and all 

276 



STYLE BOOK 

courts), the Union, Stars and Stripes, Old Glory, 
Union Jack, United States army, Declaration of 
Independence, the (U. S.) Constitution, United 
Kingdom, Dominion of Canada. 

All titles preceding a proper noun : President Taft, 
Governor-elect Wilson, ex-President Roosevelt, 
Policeman O'Connor. 

The entire names of associations, societies, leagues, 
clubs, companies, roads, lines, and incorporated 
bodies generally: Mason, Odd Fellow, Knights 
Templar, Grand Lodge of Knights of Pythias, 
Woman's Christian Temperance Union, Wiscon- 
sin University, First National Bank, Schlitz 
Brewing Company (but the Schlitz brewery), 
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Chicago 
and Northwestern Railway Company, the Asso- 
ciation of Passenger and Ticket Agents of the 
Northwest, Clover Leaf Line, Rock Island Road, 
Chicago Board of Trade, New York Stock Ex- 
change (but the board of trade and the stock 
exchange). 

The names of all religious denominations, etc. : 
Catholic, Protestant, Mormon, Spiritualist, Chris- 
tian Science, First Methodist Church (but a Meth- 
odist church), the Bible, the Koran, Christian, 
Vatican, Quirinal, Satan, the pronouns of the 
Deity. 

The names of all political parties (both domestic 
and foreign) : Republican, Socialism, Socialist, 
Democracy, Populist, Free Silverite, Labor party, 
(but anarchist). 

277 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Sections of the country : the North, the East, South 

America; southern Europe. 
Nicknames of states and cities : The Buckeye State, 

the Hub, the Windy City. 
The names of sections of a city and branches of a 

river, etc. : the East Side, the North Branch. 
The names of stocks in the money market: Supe- 
rior Copper, Fourth Avenue Elevated. 
The names of French streets and places : Rue de la 

Paix, Place de la Concorde. 
Names of automobiles : Peerless, the White 

Steamer, Pierce Arrow. 
Names of holidays : Fourth of July, Christmas, 

New Year's day, Thanksgiving day. 
Names of military organizations: First Wisconsin 

Volunteers, Twenty-third Wisconsin Regiment, 

Second Army Corps, second division Sixth Army 

Corps, National Guard, Ohio State Militia, First 

Regiment armory, the militia, Grand Army of 

the Republic. 
The names of all races and nationalities (except 

negro) : American, French, Spanish, Chinaman. 
The nicknames of baseball clubs: the White Sox, 

the Cubs. 
Miscellaneous: la France, Irish potatoes, Enfield 

rifle, American Beauty roses. 

2. Capitalize when following a proper noun: 
Bay, block, building, canal, cape, cemetery, church, 
city, college, county, court (judicial), creek, dam, 
empire, falls, gulf, hall, high school, hospital, hotel, 
house, island, isthmus, kindergarten, lake, mountain, 

278 



STYLE BOOK 

ocean, orchestra, park, pass, peak, peninsula, point, 
range, republic, river, square, school, state, strait, 
shoal, sea, slip, theatre, university, valley, etc. : 
South Hall, Park Hotel, Hayes Block, Singer Build- 
ing, Dewey School, South Division High School, 
Superior Court, New York Theatre, Beloit College, 
Wisconsin University, Capitol Square. 

3. Do not capitalize when following a proper name: 
Addition, avenue, boulevard, court (a short street), 
depot, elevator, mine, place, station, stockyards, 
street, subdivision, ward, etc. : Northwestern depot, 
Pinckney street station, Third ward, Harmony 
court, Amsterdam avenue, Broad street, Wingra 
addition, Washington boulevard, Winchester place. 

4. Capitalize when preceding a proper noun: — All 
titles denoting rank, occupation, relation, etc. (do 
not capitalize them when they follow the noun) : 
alderman, ambassador, archbishop, bishop, brother, 
captain, cardinal, conductor, congressman, consul, 
commissioner, councilman, count, countess, czar, 
doctor, duke, duchess, earl, emperor, empress, engi- 
neer, father, fireman, governor, her majesty, his 
honor, his royal highness, judge, mayor, motorman, 
minister, officer, patrolman, policeman, pope, prince, 
princess, professor, queen, representative, right rev- 
erend, senator, sheriff, state's attorney, sultan : Al- 
derman John Smith (but John Smith, alderman), 
Senator La Follette (but Mr. La Follette, senator 
from Wisconsin). 

The same rule applies when the following words 
precede a proper noun as part of a name : bay, cape, 

279 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

city, college, county, empire, falls, gulf, island, point, 
sea, state, university, etc. : City of New York, Gulf 
of Mexico, University of Wisconsin, College of the 
City of New York, College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons. 

5. Do not capitalize: 
The names of state bodies, etc. : the senate, house, 
congress, speaker, capitol, executive mansion, re- 
vised statutes. (These are capitalized only when 
they refer to the national government : e. g., the 
capitol at Madison, the Capitol at Washington.) 
The names of city boards, departments, buildings, 
etc. : boards, bureaus, commissions, committees, 
titles of ordinance, acts, bills, postoffice, court- 
house (unless preceded by proper noun), city 
hall, almshouse, poorhouse, house of correction, 
county hospital, the council, city council, district, 
precinct: e. g., the fire department, the tax com- 
mittee. 
Certain other governmental terms: federal, na- 
tional, and state government, armory, navy, army, 
signal service, custom-house. 
Points of the compass: east, west, north, south, 

northeast, etc. 
The names of foreign bodies: mansion-house, par- 
liament, reichstag, landtag, duma. 
Common religious terms : the word of God, holy 
writ, scriptures, the gospel, heaven, sacred writ- 
ings, heathen, Christendom, christianize, papacy, 
papal see, atheist, high church, church and state, 
etc. 

280 



STYLE BOOK 

The court, witness, speaker of the chair, in dia- 
logues. 

Scientific names of plants, animals, and birds : for- 
mica rufa. 

a. m., p. m., and m. (meaning a thousand) ; "ex-" 
preceding a title. 

The names of college classes : freshman, sophomore. 

College degrees when spelled -out: bachelor of arts; 
but B. A. 

Seasons of the year : spring, autumn, etc. 

Officers in local organizations (election of officers) ; 
president, secretary, etc. 

Certain common nouns formed from proper nouns: 
street arab, prussic acid, prussian blue, paris green, 
china cup, india rubber, cashmere shawl, half 
russia, morocco leather, epsom salts, japanned 
ware, plaster of paris, brussels and wilton carpets, 
valenciennes and chantilly lace, vandyke collar, 
valentine, philippic, socratic, herculean, guillotine, 
derby hat, gatling gun. 
6. Punctuation: 

Omit periods after nicknames : Tom, Sam, etc. 

Always use a period between dollars and cents and 
after per cent., but never after c, s, and d, when 
they represent cents, shillings, and pence: $1.23, 
10 per cent, 2s 6d. 

Punctuate the votes in balloting thus : Yeas, 2 ; 
nays, 3. 

Punctuate lists of names with the cities or states 
to which the individuals belong thus : Messrs. 
Smith of Illinois, Samson of West Virginia, etc. 

281 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

If the list contains more than three names, omit 
the "of " and punctuate thus : Smith, Illinois ; 
Samson, West Virginia; etc. Where a number 
of names occurs with the office which they hold, 
use commas and semicolons, thus : J. S. Hall, 
governor; Henry Overstoltz, mayor; etc. 

Never use a colon after viz., to wit, namely, e. g., 
etc., except when they end a paragraph. Use a 
colon, dash, or semicolon before them and com- 
mas after them, thus: This is the man; to wit, 
the victim. 

"Such as" should follow a comma and have no point 
after it : "He saw many things, such as men, 
horses, etc." 

Set lists of names thus without points: 
Mesdames — George V. King 

Charles C. Knapp Henry A. Lloyd 

John H. Cole Jr. 

Do not use a comma between a man's name and the 
title "Jr." or "Sr." as John Jones Jr. 

Use the apostrophe to mark elision : I've, 'tis, don't, 
can't, won't, canst, couldst, dreamt, don'ts, won'ts, 
'80s. 

Use the apostrophe in possessives and use it in the 
proper place : the boy's clothes, boys' clothes, 
Burns' poems. Fox's Martyrs, Agassiz's works, 
ours, yours, theirs, hers, its (but "it's" for it is). 
George and John's father was a good man ; Jack's 
and Samuel's fathers were not. 

Do not use the apostrophe when making a plural 
of figures, etc. : all the 3s, the Three Rs. 

282 



STYLE BOOK 

Do not use the apostrophe in Frisco, phone, varsity, 
bus. 

Use an em dash after a man's name when placed at 
the beginning in reports of interviews, speeches, 
dialogues, etc. : John Jones — I have nothing to 
say. (No quotation marks.) 

In a sentence containing words inclosed in parenthe- 
ses, punctuate as if the part in parentheses were 
omitted : if there is any point put it after the last 
parenthesis. 

Use brackets to set off any expression or remark 
thrown into a speech or quotation and not orig- 
inally in it : "The Republican party is again in 
power — [cheers] — and is come to stay." 

Use the conjunction "and" and a comma before the 
last name in a list of names, etc. : John, George, 
James, and Henry. 

Use no commas in such expressions as 6 feet 3 inches 
tall, 3 years 6 months old, 2 yards 4 inches long. 

Punctuate scores as follows: Wisconsin 8, Chi- 
cago o. 

Punctuate times in races, etc. : 100-yard dash — 
Smith, first; Jones, second. Time, 0:10 1-5. 

Peters carried the ball thirty yards to the 10-yard 
line. 
7. Date lines : 

Punctuate date lines as follows: 

MADISON, Wis., Jan. 25.— 

Do not use the name of the state after the names 
of the larger cities of the country, such as New 

283 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

York, Chicago, Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, 
San Francisco, Seattle. Abbreviate the names of 
months which have more than five letters. 
8. Quoting: 

Quote all extracts and quotations set in the same 
type and style as the context, but do not quote 
extracts set in smaller type than the context or set 
solid in separate paragraphs in leaded matter. 

Quote all dialogues and interviews, unless preceded 
by the name of the speaker or by "Question" and 
"Answer" : 

"I have nothing to say," answered Mr. Smith. 
William Smith — I have nothing to say. 
Question — Were you there? 
Answer — I was. 

Quote the names of novels, dramas, paintings, stat- 
uary, operas, and songs : "The Brass Bowl," "II 
Trovatore." 

Quote the subjects of addresses, lectures, sermons, 
toasts, mottoes, articles in newspapers : "The 
Great Northwest," "Our Interests." 

Be sure to include "The" in the quotation of names 
of books, pictures, plays, etc. : "The Fire King" ; 
not the "Fire King" ; unless the article is not a 
part of the name. 

Do not quote the names of theatrical companies, as 
Her Atonement Company. 

Do not quote the names of characters in plays, as 
Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice." 

Do not quote the names of newspapers. In edito- 
rials put "The Star" in italics, but in "The Kansas 

284 



STYLE BOOK 

City Star" put "Star" in italics and use no quo- 
tation marks. 

Do not quote the names of vessels, fire engines, bal- 
loons, horses, cattle, dogs, sleeping cars. 
9. Compounds and Divisions: 

Omit the hyphen when using an adverb compounded 
with -ly before a participle : a newly built house. 

Use a hyphen after prefixes ending in a vowel (ex- 
cept bi and tri) when using them before a vowel: 
co-exist. When using such a prefix before a con- 
sonant do not use the hyphen except to distin- 
guish the word from a word of the same letters 
but of different meaning: correspondent, but 
co-respondent (one called to answer a summons) ; 
recreation, but re-create (to create anew) reform, 
but re-form (to form again); re-enforced; 
biennial, etc. 

Do not use the hyphen in the names of rooms when 
the prefix is of only one syllable : bedroom, court- 
room, bathroom, etc. (except blue room, green 
room, etc.). 

When the prefix is of more than one syllable 
use the hyphen. Follow the same rule in making 
compounds of house, shop, yard, maker, holder, 
keeper, builder, worker: shipbuilder, doorkeeper. 

In dividing at the end of a line : 

Do not run over a syllable of two letters. 

Do not divide N. Y., M. P., LL. D., M. D., a. m., 

p. m., etc. 
Do not divide figures thus: 1,-000,000; but thus 
1,000,-000. 

285 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Do not divide a word of five letters or less. 
10. Figures: 

Use figures for numbers of a hundred or over, ex- 
cept when merely a large or indefinite number 
is intended : twenty-three, 123, about a thousand, 
a dollar, a million, millions, a thousand to one, 
from four to five hundred. 

Use figures for numbers of less than 100 when 
they are used in connection with larger numbers : 
There were 33 boys and 156 girls; there were 
106 last week and 16 this week. 

Use figures for hours of the day : at 7 p. m. ; at 
8 130 this morning. 

Use figures for days of the month : April 30, the 
22nd of May. 

Use figures for ages: he was 12 years old; little 
2-year-old John. If the words "2-year-old John" 
begin a sentence or headline, spell out the age. 

Use figures for dimensions, prices, degrees of tem- 
perature, per cents., dates, votes, times in races, 
scores in baseball, etc. : 3 feet long, $3 
a yard, 76 degrees, Jan. 14, 1906. Time of race 
— 2 \2J. 

Use figures for all sums of money: $24, $5.06, 

75 cents. 
Use figures for street numbers: 1324 Grand avenue. 
Use figures for numbered streets and avenues above 

99th; spell out below 100th: 123 Twenty-third 

avenue, 10 East 126th street. 
Use figures in statistical or tabular matter ; never use 

ditto marks. 

286 



STYLE BOOK 

Use figures, period, and en quad for first, second, 
etc. : i.-, 2.-. 

Do not begin a sentence or paragraph with figures ; 
supply a word if necessary or spell out: At 10 
o'clock ; Over 300 men. 

Do not use the apostrophe to form plurals of figures : 
the 4s, rather than the 4's. 

In all texts from the Bible set the chapters in Roman 
numerals and the verses in figures : Matt. xxii. 
37-40; I. John v. 1-15. In Sunday school les- 
sons say Verse 5. , 

Say three-quarters of 1 per cent. ; not % of 1 per 
cent. 

Set tenths, hundreds, etc., in decimals: 1.1 ; 2.03. 
11. Abbreviations: 

Abbreviate the following titles and no others, when 
they precede a name: Rev., Dr., Mme., Mile., 
Mr., Mrs., Mgr. (Monsignore), M. (Monsieur). 
Do not put Mr. before a name when the Chris- 
tian name is given except in society news and 
editorials : Mr. Johnson ; but Samuel L. Johnson. 
Supply Mr. in all cases when Rev. is used with- 
out the Christian name : Rev. Henry W. Beecher ; 
but Rev. Mr. Beecher. 

Never use "Honorable" or the abbreviation 
thereof except with foreign names, in editorials, 
or in documents. 

Abbreviate thus: Wash., Mont., S. D., N. D., Wyo., 
Cal., Wis., Colo., Ind., Id., Kan., Ariz., Okla., 
Me. Do not abbreviate Oregon, Iowa, Ohio, 
Utah, Alaska, or Texas. 

287 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Abbreviate thus : Madison, Dane County, Wis. : but 
Dane County, Wisconsin. 

Use the abbreviations U. S. N. and U. S. A. after 
a proper name. 

Y. M. C. A., W. C. T. U., M. E. are good abbre- 
viations. 

Abbreviate names of months when preceding date 
only when the month contains more than five let- 
ters : Jan. 20 ; but April 20. When the date pre- 
cedes the month in reading matter spell it out: 
the 13th of January; the 26th inst. 

Abbreviate "Number" before figures: No. 10. 

Abbreviate contract, article, section, question, an- 
swer, after the first in bills, by-laws, testimony, 
etc.: Section 1., Sec. 2.; Question — , Answer — , 

Q- A.-. _ 

Do not abbreviate railway, company, the names of 
streets, wards, avenues, districts, etc. : Madison 
Street Railway Company; State street, Monona 
avenue. 

Street and avenue are sometimes abbreviated 
in want-ads : State-st, Monona-av. 

Spell out numbered streets and avenues up to 
1 ooth: Thirty- fourth street, 134th street. 

Use & in names of firms, but use the long "and" 
in names of railroads. Use Etc. and not &c. ; use 
Brothers and not Bros, (except in ads) ; use & 
only when necessary to abbreviate in stocks. 

Do not abbreviate the names of political parties ex- 
cept in election returns, then: Dem., Rep., Soc, 
Lab., Ind., Pro., Un. Cit. 

288 



STYLE BOOK 

Put in necessary commas in abbreviating railroad 
names: C, M. & St. P. Ry. (Chicago, Milwaukee 
and St. Paul Railway) ; C, C, C. & St. L. R. R. 
(Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago and St. Louis 
Railroad). 

Abbreviate without periods in market review and 
quotations : 25c, bu, brls, tcs, pkgs, f o b, p t, etc. 
Spell out centimes except when given thus: 
iof 20c. 

Do not abbreviate Fort and Mount: Fort Wayne, 
Mount Vernon. 
12. Preparation of Copy: 

Use a typewriter or write legibly; some one must 
read your copy. 

If you write with a typewriter, double or triple 
space your copy; never use single space. 

Don't write on more than one side of the paper. 

Leave sufficient margin for corrections and leave a 
space at the top of the first page for headlines; 
leave an inch at the top of each page. 

Don't put more than one story on a single sheet 
of paper. 

Don't trust the copy-reader to fill in blanks or to 
correct misspelled names. If you write by hand 
print out proper names as legibly as possible; un- 
derscore u and overscore n. 

Don't assume that the copy-reader, the proofreader, 
or the editor will punctuate for you, or elimi- 
nate all superfluous punctuation. 

Remember that uniformity is more to be desired 
than a strict following of style. 

289 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Don't turn in copy without re-reading carefully and 
verifying all names and addresses. 

Use short paragraphs; always paragraph the lead 
separately; indent paragraphs distinctly. 

Don't write over figures or words; scratch out and 
rewrite. 

Number your pages; when pages are inserted use 
letters : pages 2, 3a, 3b, 4, 5. 

A circle around an abbreviation or a figure indicates 
that the word or number is to be spelled out. A 
circle around a spelled-out word or number in- 
dicates that it is to be abbreviated or run in fig- 
ures. 

Mark the end of your story, thus : # # # 
13. Don'ts: 

Don't use "Honorable" or abbreviations thereof, 
except in extracts from speeches or documents, in 
editorials, or before foreign names. 

Don't add final s to afterward, toward, upward, 
downward, backward, earthward, etc. 

Don't use "signed" before the signature of a letter 
or document ; run signature in caps. 

Don't begin a sentence or paragraph with figures; 
insert a word before the figures or spell out. 

Don't use commas in dates or in figures which de- 
note the number of a thing, as A. D. 1908, 2324 
State street, Policy 33815 ; in other cases use the 
comma, as $5,289; 1,236,400 people. 

Don't forget that the following are singular and re- 
quire singular verbs : sums of money, as $23 was 
invested; United States; anybody, everybody, 

290 



STYLE BOOK 

somebody, neither, either, none; whereabouts, as 
"His whereabouts is known." 

Don't forget that things OCCUR by chance or ac- 
cident, and that things TAKE PLACE by ar- 
rangement. 

Don't "sustain' ' broken legs and other injuries. 

Don't "administer" punishment. 

Don't confound "audiences," "spectators," and cas- 
ual "witnesses." 

Don't say "party" for "person." 

Don't use "suicide," "loan/' "scare," as verbs. 

Don't use "gotten"; it is questionable; use "got." 

Don't use "burglarize." 

Don't use "transpire" for "occur." 
\; Don't use "locate" for "find" ; to locate a thing is 
to place it. 

Don't use "stopped" for "stayed": He stayed at 
the Central Hotel. 

Don't "tender" receptions nor "render" songs; use 
simply "give" and "sing." 

Don't "put in an appearance" ; just appear. 

Don't use "don't" for "doesn't." 

Don't use "stated" for "said." 

Don't say "per day" or "per year," but "a day," 
"a year"; per is a Latin word and can be used 
only before a Latin noun, as "per diem" or "per 
annum." 
/ Don't say "the meeting convened"; members might 
convene but a single body cannot. 

Don't "claim that" anything is so ; you can "claim" 
a thing, however. 

20 291 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

Don't say "Mrs. Dr. Smith," just "Mrs. Smith," 

Don't say "between" when more than two are men- 
tioned. 

Don't use "proven" for "proved." 

Don't confound "staid" with "stayed." 

Don't say "different than," but "different from." 

Don't split infinitives or other verbs. 

Don't use "onto." 

Don't use "babe" or "tot" for "baby" or "child." 

Don't use superlatives when you can help it. 

Don't use trite expressions or foreign words and 
phrases. 

Don't use "corner of" in designating street loca- 
tion. 

Don't say "died from operation," but "died after 
operation" — to avoid danger of libel. 

Don't get the very habit. 
/ Don't use "couple of" instead of "two." 

Don't use Mr. before a man's full name. 

Don't use slang unless it is fitting — which is sel- 
dom. 

Don't mention the reporters, singly or collect- 
ively, unless it is necessary. It rarely is. 

Don't qualify the word "unique" ; a thing may be 

"unique," but it cannot be "very unique," "quite 

unique," "rather unique," or "more unique." 

n Don't use the inverted passive: e. g., "A man was 

given a dinner," "Smith was awarded a medal." 

Don't concoct long and improper titles: Justice 
of the Supreme Court Smith, Superintendent of 
the Insurance Department Jones, Groceryman 

292 



STYLE BOOK 

Brown. If the title is long put it after the man's 
name; thus: George Smith, justice of the Su- 
preme Court. 
J Don't use the verb "occur" with weddings, recep- 
tions, etc. ; they take place by design and never 
unexpectedly. 

Don't say "a number of," if you can help it. Be 
specific. 

Don't use the word "lady" for "woman," or "gen- 
tleman" for "man." 

Don't say "a man by the name of Smith," but "a 
man named Smith." 

Don't use "depot" for "station" — railway passen- 
ger station. 



APPENDIX I 
SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

These Suggestions for Study embody the method 
used in the course in News Story Writing in the 
Course in Journalism of the University of Wiscon- 
sin. The text of the several chapters corresponds 
to the lectures that are given in preparation for, and 
in connection with, the study of the various kinds 
of news stories. These Suggestions for Study cor- 
respond to the exercises by which the students learn 
the application of the principles embodied in the 
lectures. Hence these suggestions are given mainly 
from the instructor's point of view; however, a 
slight alteration will adapt them to home or indi- 
vidual study. Although they give very little prac- 
tice in news gathering, they enable the student to 
gain practice in the writing of news — in accordance 
with the purpose of this book. The reporter who 
is studying the business in a newspaper office may 
use them to advantage in connection with his regu- 
lar work. 

294 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

EXERCISES FOR THE FIRST CHAPTER 

1. Collect clippings of representative news stories, 
printed in the daily papers, to be used as 
models. 

2. Keep a book of tips of expected news in your 
town or city. 

3. Study news stories in your local paper and try 
to determine from what source the original 
news tip came. Try to discover from the story 
the routine of news gathering which furnished 
the facts. 

4. In the same stories try to determine what per- 
sons were interviewed ; frame the questions that 
the reporter might have asked to secure the 
facts. The instructor may impersonate vari- 
ous persons in a given news story and have the 
students interview him for the facts; this is 
to assist the student in learning to keep the 
point of view and to keep him from asking 
ridiculous questions. 

5. Try to discover what stories in any newspaper 
are the result of actual reporting by staff re- 
porters — point out where the others come from. 

6. Notice the date line on stories that come from 
the outside, and learn its form. 

EXERCISES FOR THE SECOND CHAPTER 

i. Watch for local stories that seem to be worth 
sending out; determine what element in them 
makes them worth sending out; calculate how 

295 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

far from their source they would be worth 
printing". 

2. Study the news value of stories that are printed 
in the local papers; determine why they were 
printed. Look for the same things in stories 
with date lines in the local papers. 

3. Determine what class of readers any given news 
story would interest. 

4. Notice the time element (timeliness) in news- 
paper stories. 

5. Try to determine the radius of your local pa- 
per's personal news sources : how near the 
printing office one must live to be worth per- 
sonal mention. 

6. Watch for local stories whose news value de- 
pends upon the death element, upon a promi- 
nent name, a significant loss of property, mere 
unusualness, human interest, or personal ap- 
peal; see what the local papers do with these 
stories and whether the local correspondents 
send them out. 

7. Analyze the nature of the personal appeal in 
stories that are printed only for their personal 
appeal. 

8. Notice how local reasons change the news val- 
ues of local stories. 

9. In any or all of these stories determine what 
the feature is. Distinguish between the funda- 
mental incident which the story reports and the 
additional significant feature which enhances 
the news value of the fundamental incident. 

296 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

EXERCISES FOR THE THIRD CHAPTER 

1. Run over the Style Book at the end of this 
book; note the essential points in newspaper 
style. 

2. Give the principal rules for the preparation of 
copy. 

3. Glance over the "Don'ts" in the Style Book. 

EXERCISES FOR THE FOURTH CHAPTER 

i. Study the form and construction of news sto- 
ries, especially simple fire stories. 

2. Pick out the feature of each story — the addi- 
tional incident in the story which increases the 
news value of the story itself — and see if the 
striking feature has been played up to best ad- 
vantage. 

3. Notice how the reader's customary questions — 
what, where, when, who, how, and why — are 
answered in the lead. Make a list of the an- 
swers in any given story. 

EXERCISES FOR THE FIFTH CHAPTER 

1. Collect good fire stories appearing in the news- 
papers. Study the construction of the lead 
and the order in which the facts are presented 
in the body of each story. 

2. Write the leads of fire stories. The chances 
are that actual fires will seldom occur at the 
time when the student wishes to study the 

297 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

writing of fire stories, but the instructor may 
give his class, orally or in writing, the facts 
of a fire story. He may use imaginary facts 
or he may take the facts from a story clipped 
from a newspaper — the latter method is better 
because it enables the instructor to show the 
students, after they have written their stories, 
just how the original story was written in the 
newspaper office. The facts should be given 
in the order in which a reporter would prob- 
ably secure them in actual reporting so that 
the student may learn to sort and arrange the 
facts that he wishes to use, and to select the 
feature. The instructor may even imperson- 
ate different persons connected with the story 
and have the class interview him for the facts. 
This method is to be followed throughout the 
whole study of news story writing. (In in- 
dividual study, practice may be secured from 
writing up imaginary or real facts.) 

3. In these first fire stories, use fires that have no 
interest beyond the interest in the fire itself — 
that is, no feature. Begin the story with "Fire" 
and devote the lead to answering the reader's 
customary questions. 

4. Look for newspaper fire stories that are not 
correctly written and reconstruct the lead ac- 
cording to the logic of the fire lead. That is, 
strive for conciseness and cut out details that 
do not properly belong in the lead. 

5. Make a list of the reader's customary questions 

298 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

concerning any fire and write out the briefest 
possible answers. Then construct a lead to 
embody these answers. Determine which an- 
swer should come first and which last, accord- 
ing to importance. 

6. Write the bodies of some of these stories. First 
list the facts that are to be presented and de- 
termine the order of their importance. 

7. Emphasize the separateness and completeness 
of the two parts of the story — the lead and the 
body of the story. Test the leads to see if 
they would be clear in themselves without fur- 
ther explanation. 

8. Strive for brevity, conciseness and clearness; 
wage war on all attempts at fine writing. 

EXERCISES FOR THE SIXTH CHAPTER 

1. Study fire stories which have features — an in- 
terest beyond the mere fire itself — and see how 
the newspapers write them. 

2. In a feature fire story of Class L, make a list 
of the reader's customary questions concern- 
ing the fire, as if it were a simple fire story, 
and a list of the answers. See if any answer 
is more interesting than the fire itself, or if 
its presence makes the story more interesting. 
Show that such an answer is the feature. 

3. Write fire stories with features in some one 
of the reader's customary answers. (Class I.) 

4. Study a simple fire story and try to imagine 

299 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

what things — properly answers to the reader's 
customary questions — might happen to give the 
fire greater news value. This will show the stu- 
dent how to look for the feature of a story. 

5. Write the lead of any fire story in as many 
different ways as possible, striving in each one 
to play up the same feature. 

6. Study a simple fire story and try to imagine 
what unexpected things might occur in con- 
nection with the fire which would be of greater 
interest than the fire itself. Show that these 
would be features and that they do not fall 
within the answers to the reader's customary 
questions — i. e., they are unexpected. 

7. Write fire stories with features in unexpected 
attendant circumstances. 

8. Make up lists of dead and injured; notice how 
the newspapers arrange and punctuate these 
lists. 

9. Study fire stories with more than one feature. 
Work out the possibilities in any given fire 
along these lines. 

10. Write fire stories in which there is more than 
one feature worth a place in the lead. Try 
various combinations in the lead to discover 
the happiest arrangement. Show how one of 
many striking features may be of so much 
importance as to drive the other features en- 
tirely out of the lead. 
300 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

. EXERCISES FOR THE SEVENTH CHAPTER 

1. Count the number of words in the sentences 
and paragraphs of representative newspaper 
stories. 

2. Practice writing fire leads that might be printed 
alone without the rest of the story. 

3. Take a fire lead and experiment with various 
beginnings to show the possibilities: 

a. Noun — experiment with and without ar- 

ticles. 

b. Infinitive — Distinguish infinitives in "to" 

and in "-ing." 

c. That clause. 

d. Prepositional phrase. 

e. Temporal clause. 

f. Causal clause. 

g. Others. 

Show that any of these beginnings may be 
used in the playing up of any one feature. 

4. Study how a name may overshadow an inter- 
esting story; determine when a name is worth 
first place in a lead. Study the practice of rep- 
resentative papers in this— do not hesitate to 
show how a paper has been illogical in begin- 
ning certain stories with an unknown name, 
for everything one sees in a newspaper is not 
ipso facto good usage in newspaper writing. 

5. In students' stories, notice what the principal 
verb says and point out any misplaced empha- 
sis. 

301 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

6. Wage war on "was the unusual experience of" 
and "was the fate of" in leads. 

7. Try to avoid "broke out" in fire leads. De- 
vote the space to more interesting action. 

8. Cut out all useless words in students' exercises ; 
strive for brevity. Go through a student's 
story and weigh the value of each word, phrase, 
and sentence; cut out the useless ones or try 
to express them more briefly. Do the same to 
actual newspaper stories. 

9. Weigh the value of every detail introduced 
into a lead and cut out the unnecessary ones; 
relegate them to the rest of the story. 

10. Wage war on all meaningless generalities; de- 
mand exactness. 

11. Refer the class to the Style Book in this vol- 
ume and require them to follow, a uniform 
style. Point out the differences | in style of 
various papers. 

12. See if the bodies of students' stories mean any- 
thing without the presence of the leads. Re- 
quire the body of the story to be separate and 
complete in itself. This need not, of course, 
be carried to the point of repeating addresses 
given in the lead. 

J 3- Try writing a story by simply elaborating and 
explaining the details mentioned in the lead of 
the story. Determine what facts must be 
added. 

14. See if any story can stand the loss of its last 

302 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

paragraph. Determine how many paragraphs 
it can lose without sacrificing its interest. 

15. In writing the body of a fire story, list the facts 
that are to be told, in their logical order ; thus : 
origin, discovery, spread, death of firemen, es- 
capes, injuries, rescues, explosion, extinguish- 
ing of fire. Number them in the order of their 
importance. Try to build a story out of these 
by following the logical order and at the same 
time crowding the most interesting facts to the 
beginning. 

16. Practice getting the facts of a story by means 
of interviews. The instructor may have the 
students determine what persons they wish to 
interview for the facts and the instructor may 
impersonate these persons in turn. The class 
may then write the story from the facts gained 
in this way without reference to the interviews. 
This is for selecting and arranging facts in 
their logical order. 

17. Practice the use of dialogue in stories. Judge 
its effectiveness and show that in most cases it 
is well to avoid dialogue. 

18. Practice rewriting long stories into short press 
dispatches of 150 words or less, considering the 
different news value. 

EXERCISES FOR THE EIGHTH CHAPTER 

i. Collect clippings of other kinds of news sto- 
ries. 

303 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

2. In writing these other stories use the fire story 
as a model ; the facts may be presented as they 
were in the fire story. 

3. Study the possible features in accident stories; 
write accident stories with various features; 
make lists of dead and injured. 

4. Study and write robbery stories with various 
features ; distinguish between the various names 
applied to robbery and to the people who rob. 

5. Study and write murder and suicide stories 
with various features, striving in each case to 
give the facts without shocking the reader. 
Show how the featureless murder or suicide 
story is very much like a featureless fire story. 

6. Study and write riot, storm, flood, and other 
big stories. 

7. In the study of police court news have the class 
go to the local police courts and report actual 
cases. 

8. Send the students to report meetings. Report 
conferences, decisions, etc. Insist that the story 
begin with the gist of the report in each case 
and never with explanations. 

9. Write stories on bulletins, catalogues, city di- 
rectories, etc. Study them with reference to 
their timeliness and try to discover what in 
them has the most news value. Require the 
student to begin with this element of news 
value and to give the source (the name and 
date of the bulletin, etc.) in the lead. 

10. Look over the daily papers and pick out news 

304 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

stories which bury the gist of their news and 
have the students rewrite the leads to play up 
the real news or to give greater emphasis to 
buried features. 

EXERCISES FOR THE NINTH CHAPTER 

1. Collect good examples of the follow-up and the 
rewrite story; follow one important story 
through several days' editions to see how it is 
rewritten day by day. Examine an after- 
noon paper's version of a story covered in a 
morning paper. 

2. Take any news story and work out the follow- 
up possibilities; imagine what the next step in 
the story will be. 

3. On this basis, write follow-up stories and re- 
write stories. 

4. Write a follow-up story which, while beginning 
with a new feature, retells the original story. 

5. Study and write follow-up stories involving 
fires, accidents, robberies, murders, suicides, 
storms (present condition), etc. 

EXERCISES FOR THE TENTH CHAPTER 

1. Collect good examples of speech reports. 

2. Take notes on oral speeches and write reports 
of varying lengths. Practice taking notes in 
the proper way and write the report at once — 
perhaps as an impromptu in class. The in- 
structor may send his students to public lee- 

305 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

tures or read representative speeches to them 
in class. 

3. Write reports of speeches from printed copies 
of the speech; that is, edit them in condensed 
form. 

4. Take one lead and experiment with different 
beginnings, playing up the same idea in each 
case. 

5. Discuss speeches to determine the newsiest and 
timeliest thing in the speech — the statement to 
be played up in the lead. 

6. In the body of the report try to use as much 
direct quotation as possible, use complete sen- 
tence quotations, do not mix quotation and 
summary in the same paragraph or sentence. 
Study the rules regarding the use of quota- 
tion marks. 

7. Have the students write running reports of 
speeches — that is, have them write their report 
as they listen to the speech and submit their 
report in this form. Naturally the lead must 
be written later. 

EXERCISES FOR THE ELEVENTH CHAPTER 

1. Collect representative interview stories. 

2. Have students interview various people with- 
out the aid of a note book; have them bring 
back quoted statements by the use of their 
memory. Have them interview some one who 
will criticize their manner and method. 

306 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

3. Have a definite reason or timeliness for every 

interview — have the student map out a definite 
campaign beforehand. Try writing out the 
questions beforehand in shape to fill in the an- 
swers. 

4. Write interview stories from the results of 
these attempts. 

5. Begin the same interview story in various ways. 

6. Write an interview story in which the feature 

is a denial or a refusal to speak; tell what 
should have been said and what the denial or 
refusal signifies. 

7. Study the form of the body of the report (see 
Speech Reports). 

8. Write stories which are the result of several 
interviews on the same subject; arrange them 
informally and formally. 

EXERCISES FOR THE TWELFTH CHAPTER 

i. Collect examples of good court reports. 

2. Attend and report actual cases in the local 
courts (preferably civil courts). 

3. Determine what is the most interesting thing 
in each. 

4. From this, write court reports — reports of the 
cases which the students have heard. 

5. Experiment with the various beginnings for 
the same report. 

6. Try summarizing a case in one paragraph. 

7. Practice getting down testimony verbatim. 

21 3°7 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

8. Practice summarizing testimony in indirect 
form. 

9. Practice writing out the testimony in full in 
the various ways. 

10. Write testimony with action in it for the sake 
of human interest. 

11. Show how all of these may be combined into 
one good court report. 

EXERCISES FOR THE THIRTEENTH CHAPTER 

1. Notice how various newspapers treat social 
news; study the reason in each case; collect 
examples. 

2. List the facts of a wedding story; write short 
and long wedding stories. 

3. Write wedding announcements, beginning in 
various ways. 

4. Write engagement announcements. 

5. Write up receptions, banquets, dinners, etc.; 
report actual functions. 

6. Write announcements for the same functions. 

7. Write up some unusual social story as a news 
story. 

8. Practice writing obituaries and simple death 
stories with accompanying obituary. Write 
sketches of the lives of prominent people. 

9. In these exercises use actual events as subjects. 

EXERCISES FOR THE FOURTEENTH CHAPTER 

I. Study sporting stories for their material and 
method. 

308 



SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY 

2. Report a football game or some other sporting 
event. 

3. Make a running account of a football or base- 
ball game. 

4. Write a brief summary of the game to be sent 
out as a dispatch, limiting it to 150 words. 

5. Write up the same game in 200-300 words; 
attach a condensed running account of the same 
length. 

6. Write a long story of the same game, follow- 
ing the outline given in the text; attach a de- 
tailed running account by periods or innings; 
compile tables of players and results for the 
end. 

7. The study of sporting new T s may be taken out 
of its logical place and studied during the base- 
ball or football season. 

EXERCISES FOR THE FIFTEENTH CHAPTER 

1. Collect human interest and newspaper feature 
stories. 

2. Watch for material for human interest stories ; 
look at the facts in your other news stories 
in a sympathetic way and see how they could 
be made into human interest stories. 

3. Write human interest stories on facts given 
by the instructor and on facts discovered by the 
students. 

4. Write animal stories, and witty comments on 
the weather. 

309 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

5. Write up some timely local subject as a 1500- 
word feature story. 

EXERCISES FOR THE SIXTEENTH CHAPTER 

1. Gather good theatrical reports and watch for 
those in which the whole report is written 
around a single idea. 

2. At the theater watch for things to comment 
on; try to bring away one definite idea about 
the play — with illustrations. 

3. Write dramatic criticisms that are the embodi- 
ment of a single idea or criticism on the play. 

4. Try to point out the bad things in a play with- 
out being bitter or personal. 

5. Write a half-column of copy on a vaudeville 

show, supposing that the copy is paid for and 
must praise, not only the show as a whole, 
but each individual act. 

EXERCISES FOR THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER 

i. Notice the form and punctuation of the date 
line: MADISON, Wis., Feb. 29.— 

2. Notice the writing of street addresses: 234 
Grand avenue, 4167 Twenty-sixth street; 3857 
138th street; (without "at"). 

3. Notice in the use of figures — sums of money, 
hours of day, ages, figures at the beginning of 
sentence. 

4. Notice use of titles; use of Mr. before a man's 
name — always give a man's initials or first 
name the first time you mention it in any story. 

310 



APPENDIX II 

NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 

(The following stories have been pre- 
pared to illustrate some of the most usual 
mistakes in newspaper writing. They 
may be rewritten or used as exercises in 
copy-reading. As a class exercise, the stu- 
dent may revise and correct these stories 
without recopying, just as a copy-reader 
revises poorly written copy.) 



Shortly after 2 130 this morning fire 

broke out in a pile of old papers in the 

basement of the Harmony Flat building, 

at 1356 Congress avenue, a four-story 
3ii 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
eight-apartment structure. Two firemen 

were killed by a falling wall. 

The fire had a good start before the 
janitor, Michael Jones, who sleeps in the 
basement, awoke. He turned in an alarm 
and ran through the halls awakening the 
occupants. The people on the two lower 
floors escaped in their night clothing by 
the stairways, but the fire spread very rap- 
idly, the occupants of the upper floors be- 
ing forced to flee down the fire escapes in 
the rear. 

When the firemen put in an appearance, 

Mrs. Jeanette Huyler appeared at a third 
312 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
story window and called for help. An ex- 
tension ladder being hoisted, she was res- 
cued without difficulty. During the fire 
the wall on the east side fell and killed 
Fireman John Casey and Jacob Hughes; 
Fireman Williams Jacobs was hit on the 
head by a brick and seriously injured. 

The fire was extinguished before it 
spread to an adjoining three-story flat 
building on the west. 

The firemen in searching the ruins 

found the body of a man who was later 

identified as Rupert Smithers; he was 70 

and occupied a lower flat by himself. The 
3 X 3 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
janitor said that he was deaf and prob- 
ably did not hear the warning. The three 
dead and injured firemen belong to Hose 
Co. No. 24. 

Loss $50,000, fully insured. 



II 
The police have arrested John Johnson, 
23 years old, 2367 Sixth Street, charged 
with murdering Mrs. Laura Buckthorn, 
the well-known proprietor of the Duchess 
Restaurant, 438 High street. He is now 
in the county jail. 

Mrs. Buckthorn was sixty years old and 

3i4 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
the widow of one of the oldest settlers in 

the city. 

She lived in her small cottage at 2367 

Sixth Street and supported herself by 

means of the restaurant. John Johnson, a 

street car motorman occupied a room in 

her cottage. Mrs. Buckthorn was found 

dead in her bed, in a pool of blood, with 

two bullet holes in her head this morning. 

Mrs. Grady, the restaurant cook said, "I 

became alarmed when Mrs. Buckthorn did 

not appear as usual at the restaurant this 

morning and went to her home to find 

her." 

315 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
Inquiry showed that Mrs. Buckthorn 

had drawn $250 from the First National 
Bank yesterday and her daughter, Mrs. 
J. D. Jackson, 1548 Sixth Street, says that 
her mother often kept such sums of money 
at home under the mattress of her bed. 
Mrs. Jackson also says that she often 
warned her mother against such habits. 
The money was not under the mattress 
this morning. 

Further inquiry showed that John John- 
son did not appear for work as usual this 
morning and was later found by Police- 
man Patrick O'Hara in the railroad yards. 
316 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
He had with him §223.67 and a ticket to 

New York. He was known to be hard up 
but refused to account for the money and 
was given a berth in the county jail. 

Samuel Benson, cashier of the First Na- 
tional, is sure that the two 100-dollar 
bills which were found on Johnson are the 
same bills that he gave to Mrs. Buckthorn 
yesterday afternoon. Johnson will be 
given a hearing to-morrow but it is al- 
ready considered certain that he is the 
guilty party, the evidence being so strong. 

(This story may be rewritten for local 
use and for a dispatch.) 

317 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 

III 

Sparks, resulting from the grounding 
of an electric wire, ignited a bucket of gas- 
olene and fired the shop of the G. W. 
Smith Motor Co., at 228, 232 West street 
last night, five automobiles valued at 
$5,800 being destroyed and the building 
being damaged to the extent of 6,200 dol- 
lars by fire. 

The insulation on the wires of an exten- 
sion light that Edward Flasch, one of the 
repair men was using became cracked, the 
wire grounding as a result. The sparks 

318 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
fell into a bucket of gasolene standing 

nearby and in a few minutes the entire 
building was ablaze, G. W. Smith, pro- 
prietor of the garage, said that he was sit- 
ting in his office at the time of the explo- 
sion and tried to put the fire out with sand 
but could not get the blaze under any con- 
trol. He then started to run out as many 
machines as possible. 

Six cars, valued at $9,000 were saved. 



IV 

Madison, September 25th, 1912; With 

a loud deafening roar that violently 
3 J 9 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
aroused hundreds from their beds of slum- 
ber the monster gas holder occuppying 
the southwest corner of South Blount and 
Main Streets at the gasplant of the Madi- 
son Gas and Electric Company collapsed 
very suddenly at 6 :sO a. m. this morning, 
and now lies partly submerged in water, 
a total wreck. The damage will be fully 
25,000 dollars, but there will be no inter- 
ruption to the service the company's excel- 
lent reserve equippment being immediately 
brought into action for the emergency. 
The cause of the explosion was at first 

clothed in deep mystery before the officials 
320 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
of the company had time to make any in- 
vestigation. 

However it was definitely ascertained 
during the morning when Mr. John W. 
Jackson, the secretary and treasurer of the 
company, being interviewed by a Daily 
News correspondent this morning, stated 
that the immense quantities of snow on 
the roof of the holder was primarily re- 
sponsible. The weight of the snow on 
one side of the holder causing it to drop 
down broke the wheel and pushed the 
holder off the foundation on which it was 

standing. There was a momentary blaze 
321 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
but when the tank settled down into the 

reservoir below the fire went out and the 
awful peril from this highly dangerous 
source was fortunately averted. 

As it was dozens of windows at the 
planing mill on the opposite side of the 
street were all left intact. In fact no dam- 
age whatsoever outside of the holder re- 
sulted from the unfortunate accident. 
Two workmen, Jacob Casey and Nelson 
Jones, were unfortunately caught beneath 
the wreckage and their bodies were 
removed later in the morning by the fire 

department. The tank was full when it 
322 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
collapsed and that it did not scatter de- 
struction and take more innocent lives 
was one of the fortunate features of the 
accident and a great cause for congratula- 
tion among the officials of the company- 
today. 

(This story illustrates, among other 
things, excessive wordiness.) 



V 

After being chased by a young woman 

for several blocks, a man who gave his 

name as John Weber, was pursued through 

a saloon at n-97th street by Policeman 

Arthur Brown and captured on the roof of 
22 3 2 3 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
a building adjoining the saloon, where the 

man had hidden behind a chimney. Weber 
was arrested by the policeman and is held 
on a charge preferred by Charles Young, a 
grocer at 2145 Sixth avenue, of attempt- 
ing to rob Young's grocery store. 

According to Young, just before he 
closed his store for the night last evening, 
a young man entered the store and asked 
for a pound of butter. "I thought," said 
Young, "that the man was just married 
and might be a possible new customer. I 
started for the back of the store to open a 

new tub but just as I turned to go, he hit 
324 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
me over the head with his cane. The 

blow dazed me but I still had sense enough 
to grab him by the collar. In the fight we 
both fell through the glass door at the 
front of the store and the d — n rascal got 
away/' A young woman, who was pass- 
ing the store, seeing the fracas, screamed 
and started to run after the young man. 
She followed him until he ran into a sa- 
loon. Then she ran up to Policeman 
Brown, who was standing at the corner of 

97th st. and Sixth-av and told him that a 
robber had gone into the saloon. The po- 
liceman ran into the saloon, but found the 
325 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
man had left by the back stairs. The po- 
liceman followed up two flights of stairs 
leading to the roof, on the run, where he 
found Weber hiding behind a chimney. 
Weber refused to give his address. 

After watching until she saw the robber 
taken away in the paddy-wagon, the 
doughty young woman disappeared. Her 
name is unknown. 



VI 

A burglar dressed in a Salvation Army 

uniform was arrested for attempting to 

burglarize Walter White's home, 16 West 
326 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
62nd st. at about two o'clock last night. 



i fe i 



He gave his name as Julius Woll and his 
address as 129 23rd ave. 

The caretaker at Walter White's said 
he was awakened at 1 o'clock by the noise 
of bureau drawers opening and he at once 
phoned to the station. An officer came 
and found the would-be burglar under the 
bed. After considerable scuffling the man 
was arrested and taken to the station. 

The Salvation Army denied any connec- 
tion with the prisoner but the landlady at 
his address said he had two uniforms and 

always wore one. He also carried a 
3 2 7 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
prayer book under his arm whenever he 

left his room. She also said that he had 
resided in her house for six weeks and 
owed four weeks board; also that he had 
not been there for two weeks. Inquiry- 
proved that he was out regularly until 
three or four in the morning. 



VII 

The wedding of Mr. James Henry, 

1463 Seventh Street, and Miss Sarah 

Jones, last night at the home of the bride's 

parents, at 316 North Johnson Street, was 

a brilliant success. 

328 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
Fifty guests were present and the pres- 
ents which they brought all but filled the 
parlor. After the ceremony a seven- 
course banquet was served until 1 1 130 
o'clock. Miss Sadie Jones rendered "The 
Rosary" to the accompaniment of Mr. 
John Field. 

The bride wore a gown of pink taffeta 
and carried sweet peas. The bridesmaid, 
Lily Swenk, was dressed in white muslin. 
The groom and best man, Mr. Arthur 
Howies, wore conventional black. Rev. 
Stone of the First M. E. church officiated. 

The groom is a promising young law- 
329 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
yer of this city. His bride is one of the 

city's leading young society woman, being 
deeply interested in the Womans' Suf- 
frage League. There marriage is the re- 
sult of a love affair begun at the univer- 
sity and is the cause of heart-felt congrat- 
ulations from their friends. After a trip 
to the Coast, the happy couple will reside 
in this city. 



VIII 

"What we need in our universities are^* 

sportsmen and not sports," said President 

G. E. Gilbert of the Western University, 
330 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
in the convocation address yesterday aft- 
ernoon at four o'clock. "The sportsman 
plays for the game, but the sport plays for 
the victory." 

The President continued, "Before the 
battle, and during the battle, the 
sportsman can be told from the sport." 
It is the actions of the man, he 
said, when he is in the test that determine 
to which class he belongs. The Presi- 
dent summarized the various college 
activities and showed how the two 
classes of men appear in each different 

activity. And in each, as the President 
33i 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
said, "you can tell the sportsman from the 

sport/' 

"I think that this, the relation between 
the sportsman and the sport, is the truest 
analogy that can be applied to human life. 
Life as a sea, life as a battle, life as a river 
in which you must always paddle your 
own canoe upstream, life as a hill-climbing 
contest — all these analogies have their 
weaknesses. But life as a game is a true 
analogy." 

The President concluded with a glow- 
ing tribute to our university. 

332 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 

IX 

FAULTY LEADS 

Evading the police by sliding down a 
rope fire escape from a hotel window, Jo- 
seph Matus, charged with robbing a lum- 
ber jack of $125, escaped the police 
temporily only to be arrested an hour 
later at the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. 
Paul depot. 



Ignited by the breaking of an electric 

lamp, a tank of whiskey containing 7,705 

gallons exploded and threw Francis Tab, 
333 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
1 20 W. 139th St., thirty feet against the 

opposite wall at the E. J. Jimkons Com- 
pany, 40th street this morning. 






Fire of unknown origin started in the 
big lumber yards owned by Charles John- 
son at 763 Clinton Avenue, yesterday aft- 
ernoon. The yards and one million feet 
of lumber were totally destroyed. The 
entire district between Mitchell street and 
the South River was in danger of total 
destruction, according to fire Chief Casey. 



Fire starting in a shed on West street 
334 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
caused the total destruction of the First 

Baptist church and the death of two fire- 
men killed by falling walls. Loss $120,- 
000. 



Trade war is the only probable result 
of the abrogation of the Russian treaty, 
was the statement of the Hon. Frank J. 
Blank, secretary of State, before a large 
and enthusiastic audience at the opera 
house last evening. 1800 people packed 
the building to overflowing. 



John Jones, a workman, who was 
335 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
slightly injured when a thousand pounds 

of powder exploded and wrecked the 

Three-Ex Powder mill last night, was 

taken to the St. James hospital. 



The presence of mind and coolness of 
Mrs. J. B. Sweeny, 758 North Street, 
saved little Johnny Sweeny from death 
last night when she caught him by the 
coattail and dragged him from beneath 
the fender of a street car. Mrs. Sweeny 
was dragged 50 feet by the car and taken 
to the St. Luke's hospital in an ambu- 
lance that was hastily summoned. 
336 



NEWS STORIES TO BE CORRECTED 
Falling through a street car window 

without receiving so much as a bruise was 
the unusual experience of Michael Casey- 
last night on Main Street. Michael was 
not intoxicated — so he says. 



Recklessly driving his automobile over 

the curb on Smith street, Mr. James 

White, who resides at 764 Smith street, 

was fatally hurt by a careless chauffeur, 

who was unable to handle his machine 

and skidded at the corner near Mr. 

White's home. 

337 



NEWSPAPER REPORTING 
At a meeting of the Sane Fourth com- 
mittee in the city library last evening 
at seven thirty, it was decided that Smith- 
town must pass a law forbidding the sale 
and use of cannon crackers. 



INDEX 



Abbreviations, 287. 

Accidents, 3, 107-109, 291. 

Accuracy, 145, 168, 209, 
212, 290. 

Addresses, style of, 278, 
279, 286, 288, 290, 310. 

Advertising, 28. 

Ages, how written, 286. 

Animal story, 253. 

Announcements, of engage- 
ments, 210; social, 212; 
stories on, 121 ; wedding, 
209. 

Article beginning, 43, 80. 

Assignments, 5, 29. 

Associated Press, 10. 

Association, City Press, 10, 

x 93- 
Athletic news, 219-232, 
278, 283. 

B 

Baseball stories, 219. 
Beat, or run, 5, 29. 

23 339 



Beat, or scoop, 6, 30. 

Beginning of lead, 80, 89; 
with article, 43, 80; with 
name, 57, 85, 161, 175, 
180, 195, 249; with time, 

47; 

Beginnings of court re- 
ports, 195-200; of human 
interest stories, 244-250; 
of interview stories, 179- 
187; of speech reports, 
151-164. 

Big story, 5, 31 ; following- 
up of, 140; handling of, 
116; resulting interviews 
from, 176, 187. 

Bills, stories on legislative, 
121. 

Body of the story, 45, 76; 
discussion of, 91 ; of 
court reports, 200; of 
follow stories, 129; of 
human interest stories, 
250; of interview stories, 
185 ; of news stories, 
122; of obituaries, 216; 
of speech reports, 164. 



INDEX 



Book, of tips, 3, 295; style, 

33, 276-293. 
Box, 32, 188. 
Break, to, 31. 

Brevity, 13, 206, 217, 231. 
Brief summary athletic 

story, 222. 
Bulletins, stories on, 121. 
Business office, 28. 



Capitalization, 276-281. 

Circulation, 15, 28. 

City editor, 2, 29. 

City Press Association, 10, 

193. 

Classes of readers, 16. 
Clause beginning of lead, 

82. 
Clean copy, 30. 
Clearness, 91, 104, 123. 
Clippings, 295. 
Coherence, 166 266. 
Column, 32. 
Compositor, 30. 
Compounds and divisions 

of words, 285. 
Concreteness, 104, 293. 
Conferences, reports of, 

119. 
Continued case beginning, 

196. 



Cooperation in newsgather- 

ing, 10, 193. 
Copy, 30; preparation of, 

289. 
Copyreader, 29. 
Copy reading, 311. 
Corrected, stories to be, 

3ii- 

Correspondent, work of, 2; 
instructions to, 11, 223. 

Court reporting, 4; discus- 
sion of, 192-203, 281. 

Cover, to, 29. 

Crime, stories on, 110-116. 

Criticism, dramatic, 259- 

275. 
Crowd, used as feature, 

68. 

Cub reporter, 28. 
Cynicism, 235, 252. 



Datelines, 283, 310. 

Dates, how written, 278, 

286, 290. 
Day city editor, 29. 
Dead, lists of, 63. 
Death element, 3, 22, 61, 

73, 107- 
Decisions, reports of, 119. 

Definiteness, 104. 

Desk man, 29. 

Despatch, 12, 222. 



340 



INDEX 



Dialogue, use of, 103; in 
court reports, 200; in 
human interest stories, 
245, 251; rules for, 283. 

Dictation of stories, 298. 

Diction, 290-293. 

Directories, stories on, 121. 

Distance, effect of, 11, 20. 

Division of words, 285. 

Don'ts, in dramatic report- 
ing, 265 ; in general, 290 ; 
in leads, 85-90. 

Down style, 33. 

Dramatic reporting, 259- 

275. 



Editing, 30, 144. 

Editor, 29; day or night 
city, 2, 29; sporting, 29, 
219; state, 2; Sunday, 
29; telegraph, 2, 29. 

Editorial room, 28. 

Editorial writers, 29. 

Elections, 3, 277, 281, 288. 

Emphasis, 102. 

Engagement announce- 
ments, 210. 

Entertainments, reports of, 
210. 

Exaggeration, 22, 89. 

Expected news, 3. 



Faults in news stories, 75- 
104. 

Faulty stories to be cor- 
rected, 311. 

Feature, the, 27, 31, 37, 41, 
50, 106-122, 125, 150, 
175, 195, 228, 244, 266; 
crowd as, 68; death as, 
61, 73; exaggeration for, 
89; fire fighting as, 67; 
how, 57; in accident 
stories, 107; in football 
stories, 219-232; in hu- 
man interest stories, 233- 
255; in murder stories, 
114; in police stories, 
118; in robbery stories, 
no; in speech reports, 
150; in suicide stories, 
115; injuries as, 65; 
more than one, 70; play- 
ing up of, 27, 31; prop- 
erty threatened as, 66; 
rescues as, 65 ; unexpect- 
ed attendant circum- 
stances as, 60; what, 55; 
when, 54; where, 52; 
who, 57; why, 51. 

Feature fire story, 50-74. 

Feature social story, 213. 

Feature story, the special, 
3i, 255. 



341 



INDEX 



Featureless fire story, 41- 

49. 
Figures, news value of, 24; 

use of, 283, 286, 290. 
Fine writing, 124, 213, 218, 

251. 

Fire story, 39, 41, 50, 75, 
105, 122. 

Fires, 3, 4, 7, 39, 41, 50, 
75, 105, 122. 

Follow, or follow-up, story, 
32; relation of, to court 
reports, 197; relation of, 
to interviews, 187; writ- 
ing of, 125, 130-140. 

Following up related sub- 
jects, 140. 

Football stories, 219-232. 

Form of the news story, 
34-40. 

Freak leads in speech re- 
ports, 163. 



Gathering the news, 1-13; 
in athletic reporting, 
230; in court reporting, 
193; in human interest 
stories, 234; in interview- 
ing, 169; in reporting 
speeches, 144. 

Generalities, meaningless, 
89. 



Gist, 31, 36, 233, 243, 266. 
Grammar, 78, 84, 123. 
Group interviews, 187. 

H 

Heads, headlines, 2J, 30, 

78, 188. 
Hospitals, as news sources, 

4. 
How, feature in, 57. 
Human interest stories, 17, 

24, 32, 178, 185, 191, 198; 

discussion of, 233-255. 
Humor, 24, 198, 214, 241. 
Humorous story, 241. 



I 

Infinitive beginning of 
lead, 81. 

Injuries, feature in, 65; 
list of, 64. 

Instructions to correspon- 
dents, 12. • 

Interest, 14, 35. 92, 102, 

104, 141, 179, *9 2 '> hu- 
man, 17, 24, 32, 178, 185, 
191, 198, 233-255. 

Interview stories, 175-191. 

Interviews, for facts, 6, 
103; for opinions, 6, 141, 
169-191 ; group, 187. 



342 



INDEX 



K 

Keynote beginning 

speech report, 158. 
Killing a story, 30. 



of 



Lead, 31; beginning of, 80, 
89; don'ts in, 85-90; in 
athletic stories, 223, 227; 
in court reports, 195-200; 
in fire stories, 39, 42, 50, 
77-90; in follow stories, 
127-140; in human inter- 
est stories, 233; in inter- 
view stories, 179-185, 
188; in obituary stories, 
214; in other news 
stories, 106; in speech 
reports, 147-164; length 
of, 75; main verb of, 86. 

Leaded, 32. 

Length, of lead, 75; of 
paragraphs, 75; of sen- 
tences, 76. 

Line-up of teams, 232. 

Linotype, 30. 

Lists of dead and injured, 
63 ; of guests, patron- 
esses, etc., 211, 282; of 
names, 282. 

Local interest, 21, 26. 

Long football story, 226. 



Loss of life, 22, 61, 73; of 
property, 23, 55. 

M 

Mailing stories, 13. 
Main verb of lead, 86. 
Make-up, making up, 31, 

37- 
Manner, reporter's, 172. 
Marriages, 206. 
Meaningless generalities, 

89. 

Meetings, reports of, 3, 119, 

291. 
Money, sums of, 281, 286, 

290. 
Morgue, 4, 216. 
"Mr.", use of, 287, 292, 

310. 
Murders, 113. 

N 

Name beginning, in court 
reports, 195; in human 
interest stories, 249; in 
interview stories, 175, 
180; in news stories, 57, 
85, 108- 1 16; in speech re- 
ports, 161. 

Names, prominent, 27,, 57, 
108-116, 150, 161, 178; 
use of, 276, 2yy, 280-283. 



343 



INDEX 



Narrative order, in athletic 
stones, 22j\ in court re- 
ports, 200; in human in- 
terest stories, 250; in in- 
terview stories, 185; in 
news stories, 34-40, 92- 
102; in obituaries, 215; 
in speech reports 166; in 
wedding stories, 207. 

News, 14-27, 125; agencies 
for gathering, 10, 193; 
cooperation in gathering, 
10, 193; expected and 
unexpected, 3; gathering 
of, 1-13, 144, 169, 193, 
230, 234; sources of, 4, 
29; sporting, 219-232, 
278, 283. 

New story, 34-124. 

News story form, 34-40. 

News tips, 3, 30, 295. 

News values, 11, 14-27, 38, 
41, 204, 233. 

Newspaper terms, 28-33. 

Night city editor, 29. 

Nose for news, viii. 

Notebook, 170. 

Note taking, in athletic re- 
porting, 230; in court re- 
porting, 194; in dramatic 
reporting, 267; in inter- 
viewing, 170; in speech 
reporting, 144. 

Noun beginning of lead, 80. 



O 

Obituaries, 214. 

Order of narrative (see 

Narrative order). 
Outlining of a story, 99. 



Paragraph length, 75, 290. 

Paragraphing, 48, 75, 166, 
186, 290. 

Participial phrase begin- 
ning for lead, 83, 158. 

Parts of a news story, 46, 
76, 91. 

Pathetic story, 238. 

Pathos, 24, 198, 238. 

Personal appeal, 25, 249. 

Personal news, 20, 204. 

Photographs, 13. 

Playing up, 31; of the fea- 
ture, 27, 31. 

Point of view of news- 
paper, 8. 

Police court news, 4, 118. 

Policy, 26. 

Political news, 25. 

Practice, 294. 

Preparation of copy, 289. 

Prepositional phrase begin- 
ning, 82. 

Press Associations, 10, 193. 

Printed matter, stories on, 
121. 



344 



INDEX 



Range of news sources, 20. 
Readers, classes of, 16. 
Reader's customary ques- 
tions. See Questions. 



Prominent names, 23, 57, R 

108-116, 150, 161, 178. 
Proof, 30. 
Proofreader's signs, 32, 

290. 

Property losses as features, Receptions"^ io? 291 

2 3' 55- Rehashing, 125-130. 

Property threatened as fea- Rdated stories> ^ ^ 

ture, 66. jg 7 

Public records, 4. 

"Punch," 13. 

Punctuation, 281. 



Releasing a story, 31, 144. 
Reporter, 2, 28, 170, 186, 
219, 235, 258, 259, 292. 
Purpose of newspapers, 14. Rep orting court news, 192- 

Q 202, 28l. 

Reports, dramatic, 259- 
275; of meetings, con- 
ferences, decisions, etc., 
119; of speeches, ser- 
mons, lectures, etc., 143- 
168. 

Rescues as features, 65. 

Rewrite man, 125. 

Rewrite story, 32, 125-130. 

Robberies, no, 291. 

Runs, or beats, 5, 29. 

Running a story, 30. 

Running story, 31, 189, 
200, 223, 227. 



Q. & A. testimony, 201, 
283, 288. 

Queries, 12. 

Questions, reader's custo- 
mary, as features, 51; in 
fire stories, 38, 42, 50, yy ; 
in follow stories, 132; in 
human interest stories, 
233; in interview stories, 
179; in obituaries, 215; 
in other news stories, 
106; in speech reports, 
150. 

Quotation beginnings, di- 
rect, 151, 153, 183, 198, 
245; indirect, 154. 

Quotations, 103, 146, 164, 
186, 189, 200, 284. 

Quoting, rules for, 284. 



Sarcasm, 274. 
Scoop, or beat, 6, 30; 



345 



INDEX 



Season story, 257. 

Second day story, 32, 125, 

130-140. 
Sensationalism, 18, 

9°, 2 34- 
Sentence length, 76. 
Sermons, reports of, 3, 

143-168. 
Set up, to, 30. 
Simple fire story, 40-49. 
Slang, 28, 292. 
Slash, to, 37, 92. 
Slug, 30. 
Sob squad, 236. 
Social announcements, 

212. 
Social news, 204-214. 
Sources of news, 4, 29. 
Speaker beginning, 161, 

180. 
Special feature story, 

255- 
Speech reports, 3, 143-168, 

284, 291. 
Sporting editor, 29, 219. 
Sporting news, 219-232. 
Staff, 28. 
State editor, 2. 
Stenographic reports, 144, 

194. 
Stickful, 32. 
Stories to be corrected, 

3ii- 
Storms, 3, 116. 



Story, 30; baseball, 219- 
232; big, see Big story; 
body of, see Body of the 
story; faults in news, 75- 
104; feature fire, 50-74; 
fire, 38, 40, 105, 122; fol- 
low, follow-up, or sec- 
ond day, 32, 125, 130- 
140; form of news, 34- 
40; news, 34-40, 50, 75, 
105-124; on announce- 
ments, bulletins, and 
other printed matter, 
121 ; on legislative bills, 
121 ; parts of news, 45, 
76, 91; police court, 118; 
related, 140; rewrite, 32, 
125-130; running, 31, 
189, 200, 223, 227; sim- 
ple fire, 41-49; special 
feature, 255 ; summary 
athletic, 222; unusual so- 
cial, 213. 

Street numbers, 278, 279, 
286, 288, 290, 292, 310. 

Style, 13, 33, 103, 233, 

251. 
Style Book, 33, 276-293. 
Suggestions for study, 4, 

294. 
Suicide stories, 115, 291. 
Summary beginning, for 

court reports, 197; for 

interview stories, 182, 



346 



INDEX 



188; for speech reports, 

*57. 

Sums of money, 281, 286, 

290. 
Sunday editor, 29. 
Superlatives, 222, 292. 



Tables of athletic results, 
232, 283. 

Taking notes. See Note 
taking. 

Telegraph editor, 2, 29. 

Telegraph queries, 12. 

Telephone, use of, 13. 

Terms, newspaper, 28-33. 

Testimony, 200. 

77m£-clause beginning, in 
interview stories, 182; in 
speech reports, 154. 

Theatrical news, 259-275, 
284. 

Time, indication of, 281, 
286. 

Time beginning, 47. 

Timeliness, in general, 19; 
in human interest stories, 
238, 256, 286; in inter- 
views, 176, 187. 

Tips, 3, 30, 295. 

Title beginning of speech 
report, 160. 



Titles, use of, 276, 277, 
279, 282, 284, 287, 290, 
292. 

Track news, 219, 223. ^ 

Truthfulness, 8; in gen- 
eral, 290; in human in- 
terest stories, 239; in 
interviewing, 179; in 
speech reporting, 145, 
168. 

Typewriter, use of, 289. 



U 

Unexpected attendant cir- 
cumstances, 60. 
Unexpected news, 2. 
Uniformity, 33, 34, 289. 
United Press, 10. 
Unusual social stories, 213. 
Unusualness, 24, 213. 
Up style, 33. 
Uplift run, 236, 254. 
Usual football story, 223. 



Values, news, 11, 14, 2*j, 
38, 41, 204, 233. 

Vaudeville reports, 264. 

Vernacular, newspa- 
per, 28. 

Vividness, 104, 114, 116. 



347 



INDEX 



W 

Weather story, 256. 
Wedding announcements, 

209. 
Wedding story, 206. 
What, as feature, 55. 
When, as feature, 54. 



Where, as feature, 52. 
Who, as feature, 57. 
Why, as feature, 51. 
Wordiness, 87. 



Yarn, 30. 



(l) 






APPLETONS' BUSINESS SERIES. 



Modern Advertising. 

By Earnest Elmo Calkins and Ralph Holden. Il- 
lustrated. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50 net ; postage additional. 

This volume covers the field of general advertising — that which is 
done in newspapers and periodicals, as well as the more modern forms 
shown in railway cars and stations, on tall buildings, and on the land- 
scape. The authors have endeavored to present a comprehensive state- 
ment of present conditions. They write out of large experience and 
close contact with the business as it exists to-day. The work is illus- 
trated with maps, taken from the last census reports, specimen rate cards, 
and examples of advertising. 

11 The latest addition to the Appletons' Business Series is 4 Modern Ad- 
vertising;,' by Earnest Elmo Calkins and Ralph Holden, a work which is of 
interest to every up-to-date business man. The large or the small dealer, 
jobber or manufacturer, will find within its pages a mine of information and 
helpful suggestion, and the layman will marvel at the phenomenal develop- 
ment recently achieved in trade circles through the medium of printers' ink. 
The authors state that according to various estimates the amount of money 
spent in the United States for advertising ■ ranges from $6cc,occ,ooo to 
$1,000,000,000 a year. So rapid has been the advance that the adveitising 
of yesterday is not the advertising of to-day. The authors show the various 
novel devices which have been employed, how business men have come to 
recognize that advertising is a distinct department of their enterprise, requiring 
ingenuity, resource, and energy, and how advertising is conducted in all its 
branches. The work gives many illustrations of what has helped to build 
up business in many lines." — Boston Herald. 

, " To the manufacturer, to the merchant, to the student of advertising 
problems, as well as to the general reader interested in this latest developed 
phase of business, the book is worthy of perusal." 

— Philadelphia Public Ledger, 

"The ordinary reader, no doubt, classifies advertising with the practical 
and comparatively uninteresting details of business, but one who takes up 
this book will find with surprise that it is not easy to put down, and will 
eventually finish it with a sense of entertainment and instruction." 

— New York Times. 

11 To the worker in this field, the advertiser himself, the middleman, and 
the publisher, it is an excellent guide to the best methods." 

— Washington Star. 

" About all there is to know of ' Modern Advertising ' is contained within 
the covers of a book by Earnest E. Calkins and Ralph Holden bearing- that 
title. . . . Unlike most technical books of its kind ' Modern Advertising ' con- 
tains no little matter of interest to the general reader." — Boston Transcript. 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 



BOOKS BY ALFRED AYRES* 



Some Ill-used Words. 

/\. Manual for the Use of those who Desire to Write and Speak correctly. 
iSmo. Cloth, $1.00. 

The book is leveled specially at some half dozen errors that are made by well-nigb 
2 very one who uses the English language. 

The Orthoepist. 

A Pronouncing: Manual, containing about Four Thousand Five Hundred 
Words, including a considerable number of the names of Foreign Authors, 
Artists, etc., that are often mispronounced. Revised and enlarged edition. 
i8mo. Cloth, $1.25. 

" It is sufficient commendation of the work to say that for fourteen years this little 
volume has had no successful rival in its particular field." — San Francisco Call. 

The Verbalist. 

A Manual devoted to Brief Discussions of the Right and the Wrong Use 
of Words, and to some other Matters of Interest to those who would Speak 
and Write with Propriety. Revised and enlarged edition. i8mo. Cloth, 
$1.25. 

"A great deal that is worth knowing, and of which not even all educated people are 
aware, is to be learned from this well-digested little book." — Philadelphia North 
A merican. 

The Mentor. 

A little Book for the Guidance of such Men and Boys as would Appear to 
Advantage in the Society of Persons of the Better Sort. New and revised 
edition. i8mo. Cloth, $1.00. 

" In every respect one of the most admirable books on manners and manner. It 
possesses high literary merit." — Chicago Evening Journal. 

"One of the best and most comprehensive manuals on social observances." — Boston 
Saturday Evening Gazette. 

Acting and Actors ; 

Elocution and Elocutionists. A Book about Theater Folk and Theater Art. 
With Preface by Harrison Grey Fiske ; Introduction by Edgar S. Werner ; 
Prologue by James A. Waldron. i6mo. Cloth, $1.25. 

"A book which has exceeding interest. The author talks in a very agreeable and 
instructive way about the art of acting, and while his book has a peculiar charm for 
those who sit in the orchestra chairs, it has a special value for the ladies and gentlemen 
of the stage."— New York Herald. 

The English Grammar of William Cobbett. 

Carefully revised and annotated by Alfred Ayres. With Index. i8mo. 
Cloth, $1.00. 

""It is grammar without a master and without tears, unless they are tears of laugh- 
ter." — New York Churchman. 

"This is probably the most readable grammar ever published, and for purposes of 
self-education is unrivaled." — Northwestern Christian Advocate. 

t>. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK. 



APPLETON'S BUSINESS BOOKS 



The Principles of Industrial Management 

By John Christie Duncan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of 
Accountancy, University of Illinois. i2mo. Cloth, $2.00 net. 

Modern Accounting 

By Henry Rand Hatfield, Associate Professor of Accounting, 
University of California. i2mo. Cloth, $1.75 net. 

Funds and Their Uses 

By Frederick A. Cleveland, Ph.D., University of Pennsyl- 
vania. Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, $1.25 net. 

Credit and Its Uses 

By W. A. Prendergast, Comptroller of the City of New York. 
T2mo. Cloth, $1.50 net. 

Modern Advertising 

By Earnest E. Calkins and Ralph Holden. Illustrated. 
i2mo. Cloth, $1.50 net. 

Modern Industrialism 

By Frank L. McVey, University of Minnesota. Illustrated. 
i2mo. Cloth, $1.50 ne *. 

American Railway Transportation 

By Emory R. Johnson, Ph.D., Professor of Transportation and 
Commerce, University of Pennsylvania. Illustrated. 12m >. 
Cloth, $1.50 net. 

Ocean and Inland Water Transportation 

By Emory R Johnson, Ph.D. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50 net. 

Elements of Transportation 

By Emory R. Johnson, Ph.D. Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, 
Si. 50 net. 



D . APPLETON A N D COMP A NY, NEW YORK 



APPLETON'S BUSINESS BOOKS 



Corporation Finance 

By Edward S. Mead, Wharton School of Finance and 
Commerce, University of Pennsylvania. i2mo. Cloth, $2.00 net. 

American Corporations 

The Legal Rules Governing Corporate Organization and Man- 
agement. With Forms and Illustrations. By J. J. Sullivan, 
A.M., LL.B. Instructor in Business Law, University of 
Pennsylvania. Large i2mo. Cloth, $2.00 net. 

American Business Law 

With Legal Forms. By J. J. Sullivan, A.M., LL.B. i2mo. 
Cloth, $1.50 net. 

Property Insurance 

By Solomon Huebner, M.S., Ph.D., Professor of Insurance 
and Commerce, University of Pennsylvania. i2mo. Cloth, 
$2.00 net. 

The Life Insurance Company 

By William Alexander. With Forms, Tables, and other 
Illustrations. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50 net. 

The Work of Wall Street 

By Sereno S. Pratt. Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, $1.25 net. 

Trust Finance 

By Edward S. Mead, University of Pennsylvania. i2mo. 
Cloth, $1.25 net. 

The Modern Bank 

By Amos K. Fiske. Illustrated. i2mo. Cloth, $1.50 net. 



D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, NEW YORK 
"~471 



I 1 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




0QO211H1b3l 






■ 



■ 



• *».-• . 'v I 



■ 
■ 









\mM\i 



^m 



